NAPA Academy: Enduring Legacy of Zia Mohyeddin and Pervez Musharraf
Veteran Pakistani performing artist Zia Mohyeddin (1931-2023) passed away this week. May his soul rest in peace. Amen. Among the most enduring legacies he has left behind is the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) he helped establish in Karachi in 2005 with the support and funding provided by former President Pervez Musharraf (1943-2023). Zia Mohyeddin not only inspired generations of young Pakistanis aspiring to become performing artists, he also helped build NAPA as an institution where they are formally trained in film, television, dance, theater, music and other performing arts. Zia Mohyeddin (1931-2023) Popular Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, a NAPA graduate who was inspired by Mohyeddin, told Al Jazeera the thespian’s death felt like he had lost his own father. “I don’t have enough words to express my words and sorrow at his passing. He helped me at every stage. His life was all about theatre, the all-encompassing pass...