Clicking for a living: Preserving memorable moments through the lens
Zulfiqar Ali Balti has been photographing Nawaz Sharif’s political career for 20 years.
KARACHI:
For those aiming to carve a successful career through politics, Zulfiqar Ali Balti is one man to be envious of.
In 1998, when jubilant Pakistani government officials visited the site of the country’s first successful nuclear tests, he was there. In the room where Bill Clinton and Nawaz Sharif penned their signatures on the Washington Accord, he was there. In secret discussions and drawing room talks between dignitaries, he has been there.
Balti, the photographer of former prime minister and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, has been capturing Nawaz’s every important move through his camera lens for the past 20 years. “I feel lucky that I have been present at numerous important meetings in which Nawaz was and is present,” he told The Express Tribune.
The bespectacled man, dressed in a grey safari suit, relaxed in the lobby of a local hotel. Meanwhile, the subject of his work was in his room, getting ready for a press conference. Balti was accompanying Sharif on his visit to Karachi for the Baldia factory victims. Time was short: He could only spare 20 minutes to talk about his remarkable journey.
Life as a photographer
Balti’s day starts early: A text message or phone call informs him of any event where he needs to be. He reaches Raiwind and together they set off – Nawaz and him. After his work is over, Balti uploads the pictures on the party’s website, the Facebook page, and sends them to over 700 newspapers around the world.
At that moment, he takes out his laptop, and shows pictures of Nawaz standing near the gutted factory. Balti scratches his head when asked about how many pictures he has taken. “There must be thousands. I can’t tell the exact number.” But he does talk about his favourite pictures of the PML-N leader. “I like pictures in which he is with the common people.”
Following Nawaz’s resignation as prime minister in 1993, Balti was approached by the PML-N. “At that time, I was working as the chief photographer for the Nawa-i-Waqt [Urdu ePaper] in Islamabad. But I had good contacts with politicians.” Nawaz wanted him to work for him for the election campaign in 1993 following his resignation. Balti agreed and they travelled countrywide.
In the end, when Benazir Bhutto won and Nawaz lost, Balti was all set to return to his previous job when Nawaz said to him, “I have lost and now you are leaving me?” That was it. Those words hit Balti hard and he decided to work for him for life.
1999 military coup
Those were glorious days. Balti claims that he photographed Nawaz with 100 political and religious leaders, from Pope John Paul II to Yasser Arafat. Balti also vividly remembers October 12, 1999, the day of the military coup. “That morning when we went to Multan for a project inauguration, I saw a different team accompanying us from the usual one. When we came back, I went straight to my home from the airport, because I had a headache.”
Two hours later, the news about the coup reached Balti. Phones were disconnected. The Muslim League House was occupied by army officers. He had no idea where Nawaz was. Friends advised him to go into hiding. His bank account was seized and the future was uncertain. “Things were tough. I was surviving on loans taken from friends.” After Nawaz went into exile in December 2000, things became more difficult, with three children to feed and educate.
For eight years when Nawaz was in exile, Balti remained unemployed. He had almost given up photography. “I was confused. I had several job offers but I turned them down. Nawaz Sharif wasn’t there. But my wife supported me. She said, ‘What will you say to Mian saab when he asks you what you did for him’.”
When Nawaz returned in 2007, Balti got his job back. “After the 1999 coup, I saw a different Nawaz Sharif. He returned as a man who worked in his exile, during which he went through bad times.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 4th, 2012.
For those aiming to carve a successful career through politics, Zulfiqar Ali Balti is one man to be envious of.
In 1998, when jubilant Pakistani government officials visited the site of the country’s first successful nuclear tests, he was there. In the room where Bill Clinton and Nawaz Sharif penned their signatures on the Washington Accord, he was there. In secret discussions and drawing room talks between dignitaries, he has been there.
Balti, the photographer of former prime minister and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, has been capturing Nawaz’s every important move through his camera lens for the past 20 years. “I feel lucky that I have been present at numerous important meetings in which Nawaz was and is present,” he told The Express Tribune.
The bespectacled man, dressed in a grey safari suit, relaxed in the lobby of a local hotel. Meanwhile, the subject of his work was in his room, getting ready for a press conference. Balti was accompanying Sharif on his visit to Karachi for the Baldia factory victims. Time was short: He could only spare 20 minutes to talk about his remarkable journey.
Life as a photographer
Balti’s day starts early: A text message or phone call informs him of any event where he needs to be. He reaches Raiwind and together they set off – Nawaz and him. After his work is over, Balti uploads the pictures on the party’s website, the Facebook page, and sends them to over 700 newspapers around the world.
At that moment, he takes out his laptop, and shows pictures of Nawaz standing near the gutted factory. Balti scratches his head when asked about how many pictures he has taken. “There must be thousands. I can’t tell the exact number.” But he does talk about his favourite pictures of the PML-N leader. “I like pictures in which he is with the common people.”
Following Nawaz’s resignation as prime minister in 1993, Balti was approached by the PML-N. “At that time, I was working as the chief photographer for the Nawa-i-Waqt [Urdu ePaper] in Islamabad. But I had good contacts with politicians.” Nawaz wanted him to work for him for the election campaign in 1993 following his resignation. Balti agreed and they travelled countrywide.
In the end, when Benazir Bhutto won and Nawaz lost, Balti was all set to return to his previous job when Nawaz said to him, “I have lost and now you are leaving me?” That was it. Those words hit Balti hard and he decided to work for him for life.
1999 military coup
Those were glorious days. Balti claims that he photographed Nawaz with 100 political and religious leaders, from Pope John Paul II to Yasser Arafat. Balti also vividly remembers October 12, 1999, the day of the military coup. “That morning when we went to Multan for a project inauguration, I saw a different team accompanying us from the usual one. When we came back, I went straight to my home from the airport, because I had a headache.”
Two hours later, the news about the coup reached Balti. Phones were disconnected. The Muslim League House was occupied by army officers. He had no idea where Nawaz was. Friends advised him to go into hiding. His bank account was seized and the future was uncertain. “Things were tough. I was surviving on loans taken from friends.” After Nawaz went into exile in December 2000, things became more difficult, with three children to feed and educate.
For eight years when Nawaz was in exile, Balti remained unemployed. He had almost given up photography. “I was confused. I had several job offers but I turned them down. Nawaz Sharif wasn’t there. But my wife supported me. She said, ‘What will you say to Mian saab when he asks you what you did for him’.”
When Nawaz returned in 2007, Balti got his job back. “After the 1999 coup, I saw a different Nawaz Sharif. He returned as a man who worked in his exile, during which he went through bad times.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 4th, 2012.