Interview with art historian Akbar Naqvi conducted in 2008, Karachi, by Maliha Noorani, AAA researcher for Pakistan.

Thanks to his background in literature first as a child and later as a student and scholar, Naqvi approaches the visual and the textual with a sense of fluidity. During his time in London, he repeatedly saw works by Rembrandt, Cezanne, Klee, Miro and others. In Pakistan, however, there is a lack of good museums and communities. This has led to artists who can paint but, according to Naqvi, do not understand art. As a whole, he is concerned that art in Pakistan imitates trends without innovating. He also attributes the limitations of Pakistani art to the Partition, which has attempted to separate art from politics.