Pakistan Philatelic Information: Sadequain Stamps & Souvenir Sheet, 30th, 2026 (2026-10)

Size of Stamp	280 x 40 mm
Size of Stamp Print	280 x 40 mm
Number of stamps in a Sheet	03 Stamps (Set of 3 Stamps)
Perforations	13 C (Elliptical)
Denomination:	Rs. 60/- each stamp
Size of Souvenir Sheet	165 x 190 mm
Number of stamps in a Souvenir Sheet	04 Stamps
Denomination of Souvenir Sheet	Rs. 120/-
Colors	CMYK
Printing Technology	Lithography Offset
Paper	100 GSM Water Mark Gummed Paper
Gum	PVA
Quantity of Stamp	50000
Quantity of Souvenir Sheet	10,000
Design	Abu Obaidah Ayyaz & Hasnain Mahmud
Printer	Pakistan Security Printing Corporation, Karachi

Sadequain, one of Pakistan's most celebrated and prolific artists, stands as a towering cultural figure whose contributions transformed the artistic landscape of the country. Born Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi on 30th June, 1930 in Amroha, he emerged as a self-taught painter, calligrapher, and muralist whose exceptional talent became evident early in his career. After migrating to Pakistan in 1948, he rose to national prominence during the 1950s and 60s, when his distinctive creative voice began shaping modern art in the region. Sadequain was not merely a painter; he was a thinker, a philosopher, and a poet whose brushwork carried the weight of ideas, struggles, and human emotion. His work explored the complexities of existence, the dignity of labour, and the intellectual spirit that fuels human progress. Over time, he became renowned not only within Pakistan but also on global platforms, exhibiting in Paris, New York, Montreal, and Delhi, where critics hailed him as one of South Asia's most remarkable artistic minds.

Sadequain's art style defied easy categorization, blending elements of calligraphy, abstraction, cubism, and figuration into a deeply personal aesthetic vocabulary. His early work was marked by bold, angular forms and a monochromatic palette that conveyed the turbulence of human struggle. During this period, he introduced his iconic imagery of "cactus forms," symbolic of resilience, endurance, and the human spirit's ability to rise against adversity.

Sadequain was instrumental in reviving Islamic calligraphy in Pakistan. He was one of Pakistan's greatest calligraphers, and he was instrumental in transforming the art of calligraphy into serious expressionist paintings. He claimed that divine inspiration was responsible for his transformation into a calligrapher. Until Sadequain adapted this medium in the late 1960s, the art of calligraphy was relegated to a second-class status in Pakistan. Until then, a few painters had experimented with the medium, but it remained merely an experiment. Sadequain's transformation of calligraphy into a mainstream art form influenced the majority of known Pakistani artists, and calligraphic art now dominates the art scene.

His evolution into calligraphic art initiated a new chapter in Pakistan's visual tradition, reviving Islamic calligraphy through dynamic, modern compositions. He transformed traditional scripts into expressive visual forms, infusing Qur'anic verses and poetry with a rhythmic energy that felt both classical and contemporary. His lines-fluid, confident, and deeply emotive-became instantly recognizable, making him a pioneer of modern calligraphy in the Muslim world. Sadequain was able to take the calligraphy to unprecedented heights, his rebellious soul may be credited for it. rather than the long-standing family tradition of Calligraphy. Like Ibn-e-Muqla's achievement of bringing writing to the aesthetic perfection, Sadequain took the calligraphy to the new frontiers of boldness, vibrating with life that is more enthralling than enchanting. His mixing of classical Khats (scripts) with his abstract styled writing infused a new life in calligraphic arts in the subcontinent.

As a muralist, Sadequain produced monumental works and these grand compositions reflected his mastery over scale and narrative, illustrating complex themes of science, philosophy, and human advancement. The legacy of Sadequain endures as one of Pakistan's greatest cultural treasures. He democratized art by creating in public spaces, allowing ordinary people to witness creative genius unfolding in real time. His lifelong commitment to sharing knowledge often painting in open halls, schools, and public institutions-reflected his belief that art must serve society. Despite immense global recognition, Sadequain remained profoundly rooted in the people of Pakistan, frequently engaging with students, young artists, and admirers who gathered around him. His poetic writings, compiled posthumously, further reveal a mind in constant dialogue with the world's intellectual traditions, blending mysticism, social critique, and philosophical inquiry. Today, his murals are considered national assets, his calligraphy a foundational influence for generations of artists, and his contributions a defining chapter in the history of modern South Asian art.

Sadequain was Pakistan's most prolific painter of his time credited with more than 15,000 paintings. Many of Sadequain's most famous works are vast murals, painted in public buildings, often donated by the artist which can be seen at State Bank of Pakistan Museum & Art Gallery Karachi, Frere Hall, Karachi, Lahore Museum, Power House at the Mangla Dam, Punjab University Library, Lahore, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India, Banaras Hindu University, Banaras, India National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, India and Indian Institute of Islamic Research, New Delhi, India.

Sadequain passed away in 1987, leaving behind a body of work unmatched in scale, diversity, and cultural impact. His artistic legacy continues to shape Pakistan's identity, offering a model of creativity rooted in bold experimentation, intellectual depth, and public engagement. Whether through his evocative figures, his sweeping calligraphic strokes, or his monumental murals, Sadequain's art remains a testament to human resilience and the power of creative expression. He is remembered not simply as an artist but as a national icon whose influence resonates across Pakistan's cultural institutions, academic discourse, and contemporary art practices. His legacy ensures that his presence continues to inspire, educate, and uplift future generations, making him one of the most enduring symbols of artistic excellence in Pakistan's history.

His acclaim was not confined within the borders of Pakistan. Sadequain exhibited his work in Paris, New York, London, Delhi, Montreal, and all over the Middle East, becoming one of the few Pakistanis whose impact was truly global. He was awarded four of Pakistan's most prestigious national awards: Nishan-e-Imtiaz, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, Tamgha-e-Imtiaz and Pride of Performance forhis lifelong contributions to the arts - an honour no other artist has collectively achieved.

Artwork Introduction (Stamps & FDC)

The mural used on the first stamp - 'Treasures of Time' was created in 1961 by Sadequain for the library of the State Bank of Pakistan, Karachi and was the first large mural in Pakistan (65ft x 10ft). When the new headquarter building of State Bank of Pakistan was constructed in 1961, with several modern and unique features such as escalators and a roof-top garden, the search to identify a capable and accomplished artist to adorn the vast halls and wide corridors of the impressive building culminated on Sadequain. His recognition abroad, his recognition as the most distinguished artist of the country, and his repertoire of large murals, perhaps helped to make the task of the decision makers a matter of natural selection. Fortunately, for the decision makers, Sadequain, who was at that time shuttling back and forth between Karachi and Paris at regular intervals, agreed to undertake the challenge. It was a challenge because he only had three months to complete about a dozen pieces of art, including the gigantic mural.

In the mural Treasures of Time, the historical progress of humanity, knowledge and civilisation is represented through pictorials of 46 philosophers, scholars, mathematicians, scientists, writers and poets ranging from Socrates to Allama Iqbal and Einstein. In the middle is the artist Sadequain himself showing his pulse to Hakeem Al-Razi (details as shown on the pictograms). Sadequain placed himself at number 26, exactly in the middle, nestled between the Islamic golden age scholars and the post-Renaissance Western thinkers. That's not accidental, he's the bridge!

The murals used on the other two stamps and FDC - Arz-o-Samawat (Earth and the Heavens) is a massive, unfinished (70ft x 40ft) mural painted by Sadequain on the ceiling of Frere Hall in Karachi. The mural symbolizes the connection between terrestrial and celestial realms, featuring dissected earth, twin doves of peace, and representations of creation, often interpreted through mythological figures and poetic, calligraphic forms and is considered his last masterpiece. The mural was painted in an astonishingly short time of six months. As if aware of the little time allotted to him in this world, Sadequain worked tirelessly from late 1986 to a few weeks before his death in 1987, determined to go out in a final burst of light. This

work was a break from the calligraphy that had possessed him for several years. With this final piece at Frere Hall, his life had come full circle, since he had held his first exhibition there as well in 1956 which had been sponsored by his patron, Prime Minister Hussein Shaheed Suharwardy. Sadequain passed away on February 10, 1987 without having finished the ceiling mural and large blue swathes of blue paint traverse the ceiling flanking the central parts (shown on FDC).

Souvenir Sheet

1. Lady and the mirror (Starting from top left, clockwise)

تماشا کہ اے محو آئنہ داری تجھے کسی تمنا سے ہم دیکھتے ہیں (غالب) 2

ہم نے مانا کہ تغافل نہ کرو گے لیکن خاک ہو جائیں گے ہم تم کو خبر ہونے تک (غالب) 3

4. Low-Coffee Sadequain

5. Spring in her attire

دگر دانائے راز آید کہ نائد ؟ (اقبال) 6

7. Dancing figures

تیرے ہونٹوں کہ پھولوں کی چاہت میں ہم دار کی خشک ٹہنی پر وارے گئے ( فیض احمد فیض ) 8

Design Elements:- Commemorative stamps of this issue are the longest stamps in the world till date and add a powerful dimension to its significance. Sadequain's own murals often stretched across enormous surfaces and Pakistan Post's apt tribute to the artistic genius of Sadequain in the form of the longest stamp of the World using his murals is a fitting artistic gesture that mirrors his style and scale As an apt tribute to the maestro, stamp and the souvenir sheet figures a distinct inscription of Pakistan in English crafted by Sadequain from one of his works for State Bank of Pakistan. Furthermore, the Urdu inscription of his name was also drawn by him in one of his works.

Leaflet of the issue features a Sadequain calligraphy never made public before from the private collection of Professor (Retired) Dr. Zafar Iqbal in 1984, during a visit to his brother's place who was a friend of Sadequain, the painter suddenly requested for a large paper and wrote بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم five distinct styles and signed it for (now late) Sheikh Abdullah Sahib (father of Dr. Zafar Iqbal). When signing his own name. Sadequain used the prefix "Faqir" as he did often in this calligraphy.

01:- Anonymous potter from the Stone Age	02:- Youth
03:- Socrates	04:- Plato
05:- Aristotle	06:- Euclid of Alexandria
07:- Confucious	08:- Herodotus
09:- Sophocles	10:- Archimedes
11:- Dante Alighieri	12:- Galileo Galilei
13:- Leonardo da Vinci	14:- Buddha

15:- Paradise, Abul Qasim Mansur	16:- Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid
17:- Al-Kindi, Abu Yusuf Yaqub ishaq	18:- Hunayn ibn Ishaq
19:- Jabir ibn Hayyan	20:- Al-Farabi, Abu Nasr Muhammad
21:- Ibn Sina, Abu al-Husayn bin Abdullah	22:- Al-Biruni, Abu Rayhan
23:- Al-Khwarizmi	24:- Omar Khayyam
25:- Ibne Rushd	26:- Sadequain
27:- Ar-Razi, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibne Zakariya	28:- Rumi, Jalaluddin
29:- Al-Idrisi, Abu Abdullah Muhammad	30:- Hafiz, Shams ad-Din Muhammad
31:- Ibn Khaldun, Abu Zayd Abd al-Rahman

32:- Nicolaus Copernicus	33:- William Shakespeare
34:- Isaac Newton	35:- Immanuel Kant
36:- Michael Faraday	37:- René Descartes
38:- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe	39:- Adam Smith
40:- Walt Whitman	41:- Karl Marx
42:- Charles Darwin	43:- Mirza Asadullah Ghalib
44:- Rabindranath Tagore	45:- Allama Muhammad Iqbal
46:- Albert Einstein

Frere Hall, Karachi (established 1865)

Breaking though the cliché-barrier, Sadequain discovered a new art form for himself which he called Mystic Figuration. The new art form got a flying start when the first attempt at mystic figuration: The Last Supper won Sadequain the Biennale (1961) award in Paris.

Sadequain, developed the concept of "Mystic Figuration" to express the existential burdens, sufferings, and metaphysical quests of humanity Inspired by the resilient desert cacti, his distorted, elongated figures act as powerful metaphors for the tormented human soul seeking divine truth.

To commemorate Sadequain, Pakistan Post is issuing a set of three Commemorative Postage Stamps denomination Rs. 60/- each and a Souvenir Sheet valued at Rs. 120/- denomination on 30th June 2026.