Zahoor ul Akhlaq

Zahoor ul Akhlaq (4 February 1941 – 18 January 1999) was a Pakistani artist who taught at the NCA (National College of Arts) in Lahore. His family moved to Lahore after the independence of Pakistan in 1947, eventually settling in Karachi. Akhlaq attended the Sindh Madrassah (now called Sindh Madressatul Islam University) as a young boy and in 1958 went to study art in Lahore at the Mayo School of Arts (now called National College of Arts).

Pakistani painter Shakir Ali was teaching art there as a professor at the time. Shakir Ali encouraged him greatly in his art studies. Zahoor graduated from this college in 1962 and he then started teaching at the same college in the Fine Arts Department. Shakir Ali heavily influenced him to learn the Cubist style and other modern ideas of that time.

Death Akhlaq, and his elder daughter, Jahanara, were shot dead in their Lahore home on 18 January 1999, by a visiting acquaintance, Shahzad Butt, a roti merchant of the city. The killer could give no reason for having turned his gun on them.

Akhlaq's influences are from a vast range of sources, which include painting, literature, philosophy, Sufism, dance, and music. His teaching and practice is considered to have had a significant impact on a generation of Contemporary Pakistani art and artists. Zahoor ul Akhlaq is best known for pioneering the contemporary miniature painting in Pakistan. The logo of the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture was designed by him.

Awards Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) Award in 2006 by the President of Pakistan. Posthumously awarded in recognition of his contribution to the arts and education. Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Order of Excellence) award by the President of Pakistan in 2021.