RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY

As a Pakistani photographer, I wanted to show and celebrate pluralism and tolerance through my images. Whether its listening to the hymns on the Easter vigil amidst a sea of candles in a cathedral, partaking in Seva (selfless devotion in Sikhism) in Gurdwaras, seeing the commonalities in the respectful offerings to the sea in Zoroastrianism and Hinduism, all taught me more about my faith These experiences taught me that we all are humans, and we all are connected by humanity and spirituality, no matter what our faith, caste or creed.

This culminated into form of my book “White in the Flag”, which is based on lives and festivities of religious minorities of Pakistan. The idea behind it started in college, where I was studying art in Rawalpindi. I was surrounded by many Hindu and Sikh temples that were built before the partition of India, along with a handful of churches and an old synagogue, I became interested in documenting these places, most of which were abandoned, and the communities tied to them. It took seven years,traveling across the country’s four provinces – Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh; capturing the public and private spaces in which Parsis, Christians, Hindus and Sikhs, among others, worship and live; leading to the book's  publication in 2017.

Ramzan Evening at Badshahi Mosque, Lahore

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Mela Chiraghan, Lahore

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Mela Chiraghan, Lahore

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Shah Jahan mosque, Sindh

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Devotee in a mosque at the shrine of Bhit Shah, Sind

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Khudabad Mosque, Dadu, Sindh

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Urs of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Sehwan Sharif, Sindh

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Pak Vigah Sharif Mosque, Gujrat

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Pak Vigah Sharif Mosque, Gujrat

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Baisakhi, Punja Sahib

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Baisakhi, Punja Sahib 2

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Cathedral Church of the Resurrection

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Cathedral Church of the Resurrection 2

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Mahabat Khan mosque, Peshawar

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Wazir Khan mosque, Lahore

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Easter Mass in Rawalpindi

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Shahi mosque, Chiniot

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Holi, Mithi

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Holi, Mithi

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Diwali, Umerkot

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Uch Sharif

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Joshi festival, Kalash

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Sadiq Garh mosque

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Christmas at St. Anthony's Church, Lahore

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Jamia mosque, Rawalpindi

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Parsi Jashan

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Kartarpur

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Badshahi Mosque at Night

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