A report submitted to the Sindh culture minister on the issue of the lost paintings of artist Safdar Ali, popularly known as Saifi Soomro, has revealed that those paintings never went missing in the first place and were available at the Frere Hall since 2017.
Soomro, who is from Daharki in Ghotki district, had made those paintings in 2016 and sent them to the Frere Hall for an exhibition in 2017. After the exhibition, he was told that those paintings had disappeared and could not be returned.
However, in an interesting turn after around seven years, a drama was recently aired on a private television that had a scene of the Frere Hall gallery. When Soomro saw that scene, he was surprised to see his ‘lost’ paintings on display.
As he raised the issue on social media, a two-member committee was formed to investigate the matter which has submitted its report to Sindh Minister for Culture and Tourism Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah.
The committee comprised Director General of Culture Munawar Mahesar and Director General of Archaeology and Antiquities Abdul Fattah Sheikh. It spoke with the Frere Hall administration and interviewed Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Senior Director of Culture and Sports Abbas Raza Rizvi, Deputy Director Mansoor Ahmed, and Deputy Director of Culture at Frere Hall Abdul Abrar Sheikh.
The report reveals that the paintings in question have been present at the Frere Hall since 2017. The committee report said that the paintings seen in the drama of a private television channel were the same that were said to be missing, and the drama was indeed shot at the Frere Hall.
The report also mentioned that the paintings were frequently moved from one place to another due to different exhibitions. It added that the artist, however, had not expressed any interest in reclaiming his paintings. The report concluded that there was a misunderstanding between the paintings' owner and the Frere Hall administration, but the paintings were indeed still at the hall.