ISLAMABAD: Former Federal Minister for Population Welfare and Convener World Minorities Alliance (WMA), Julius Salik has arrived in Washington D.C. to launch a worldwide interfaith campaign through the exhibition of portraits of international celebrities hailing from various faiths and segments of the society.
The former Federal Minister and veteran human rights defender through the platform of WMA have been organising different initiatives to promote peace, tolerance and coexistence among communities of different faiths and religions at the international level.
Julius Salik famously J. Salik has some 25 special oil paintings created by his late brother Markus Salik who was a self-made artist that is a tribute to the great leaders of different faiths who fought for democracy, minorities rights and advocated religious harmony.
Talking to APP in a telephonic conversation from Washington D.C., J. Salik said the portraits made by his brother included that of the Head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, first U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther king Jr, Imam-e-Kaba Abdul Rahman Ibn Abdul Aziz al-Sudais, and a special photograph of Princess of Wales Lady Diana that was captured during her visit to Riyadh.
He said Markus had attained mastery in fine arts by spending his time in the Libraries, exploring different artists and reading about their biographies, and viewing their work analytically was his daily routine.
“Besides his artistic skills, his passion for photography was also remarkable as he used to take pictures in a unique manner which distinguished him from many traditional photographers.
On my suggestion, he presented a portrait of Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom. The Queen not only accepted the gift but appreciated him with a handwritten letter of appreciation in 1974,” he added.
Salik said in 1976, Markus got an opportunity to work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He got an opportunity to present a portrait to the then Governor of Riyadh and now King of Saudi Arabia, Suleman Bin Abdul Aziz, who was so pleased to see his portrait by Salik and some of his photography that he asked him to work as an Official photographer in the office of Mayor of Riyadh.
“Markus worked in that capacity for nine years, where he got the opportunity to work as a photographer in the close circles of the Royals, which was another landmark of his journey.
One of the highlights of his photographic career was to take pictures of Lady DIana and Princess of Bahrain during their visits to Riyadh.
Salik had a lifetime opportunity to make a complete visual report by his photographs on the Governor’s vision of transformation of old Riyadh into a new look of the city.”
His photographs were exhibited by the Governor in many countries like France, Germany, Egypt and the United States of America, J. Salik said.
