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.

Pak Vigah Sharif Mosque, Gujrat

Pak Vigah Sharif Mosque, Gujrat

Baisakhi, Punja Sahib

Baisakhi, Punja Sahib 2

Cathedral Church of the Resurrection

Cathedral Church of the Resurrection 2

Mahabat Khan mosque, Peshawar

Wazir Khan mosque, Lahore

Easter Mass in Rawalpindi

Shahi mosque, Chiniot

Holi, Mithi

Holi, Mithi

Diwali, Umerkot

Uch Sharif

Joshi festival, Kalash

Sadiq Garh mosque

Christmas at St. Anthony's Church, Lahore

Jamia mosque, Rawalpindi

Parsi Jashan

Kartarpur

Badshahi Mosque at Night

ALL PHOTOS