137 Paintings stolen from National Art Gallery Islamabad

A total of 137 paintings have been stolen from the National Art Gallery and authorities haven’t taken the necessary action. Senior artists have requested the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Prime Minister, Imran Khan to launch an investigation immediately. The matter came to light after the National Artists Association of Pakistan (NAAP) wrote to the Federal Minister for Education and Heritage Shafqat Mehmood, alerting him to the issue.

AJ Shezma, the suspect:

Earlier this week, in a webinar organized by the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan), a discussion was held regarding the 10 paintings of the renowned late artist, AJ Shemza which were mysteriously removed from the National Art Gallery of the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA). Later they were handed over to a woman who claimed to be the heiress of the late artist. This was the first time in history that artwork donated to a national gallery was claimed by an artist’s heirs and given to them. Former PNCA director-general Naeem Tahir said this should not have been done in principle, adding that once an artist has donated his or her work to the national gallery, it becomes a national treasure and no one has the right to claim it as their property or to make a decision to return it. Once it is entered into the gallery’s inventory, it becomes a national asset that no one has the right to remove from the gallery.

The previous head of the PNCA before the currently appointed one, Jamal Shah recalled that during his service at the council, in 2017 he had received several letters by the alleged heirs and heiresses of the late artist, AJ Shemza. The letter came along with a note from another late artist, Asma Jahangir asking for the paintings to be returned. The former executive director of Visual Arts, Amna Ismail Pataudi disclosed that she had been forced to return the paintings to the heirs however, she refused to do so. She retired on July 9 and is certain that the heist took place after that.

Due to their high quality and worth, the heads believe there is a filthy money-making scheme at play by powerful figures.