"Where journalism becomes art and art becomes truth — that is where I have always lived."
٠١ My Story
25+
Years in Media
75+
Major Events Led
2,500+
Digital Assets Created
50+
Documentaries Produced
10+
International Projects
12+
Books & Publications
By the Numbers
Performance Highlights
Each figure is a body of work — crafted with editorial precision, delivered at national scale.
Broadcasting
Live and studio broadcasting for television and radio — anchoring, presenting, and on-air production.
Event Management
High-profile state visits, trade exhibitions, and international delegations — planned and delivered end to end.
Journalism
Two decades of newsroom leadership, editorial, copywriting, and investigative reporting.
Leadership
Directing teams and newsrooms, and building cross-cultural communities with a steady editorial hand.
Sports Production
Multi-camera coverage, highlights, and live storytelling for sporting events.
Video Productions
Documentaries, reels, and digital campaigns — directed and produced from first frame to final cut.
Wildlife Coverage
Field photography and documentary coverage of wildlife and landscape — patience, composition, and light.
Career
The Long Road
Follow the line — every bend is a newsroom, a studio, a parliament, a stage.
August 2015 — Present
Additional Director, Marketing, PR & Events
Punjab Board of Investment & Trade (PBIT), Government of Punjab
Leading province-wide investment promotion; spearheading Punjab's participation at Dubai Expo 2020; establishing PBIT's in-house multimedia production facility; and directing communications for Business Facilitation Centres across six cities — including the acclaimed "Turning Red Tape into Red Carpet" campaign.
January 2011 — August 2016
Chief Editor & Founder
Awaz Newspaper, Scotland
Founded and led Scotland's first multilingual South Asian newspaper, growing it into a publication with reach inside the Scottish Parliament. Built editorial strategy, digital presence, and stakeholder partnerships across the diaspora.
July 2013 — June 2014
Project Director
Unity FM Glasgow — Community Radio
Led Scotland's first community radio serving the South Asian diaspora — curating programming, managing compliance, and building cultural bridges across Pakistani, Indian, and Bangladeshi communities.
March 2007 — June 2009
Senior Producer (Production Coordinator — Worldwide)
Waqt TV, Lahore
Oversaw end-to-end production of news packages, live events, and special programmes. Led research and scriptwriting while managing cost-effective production strategies at national scale.
February 2005 — February 2007
Assistant Editor, Online Edition
The Nation, Lahore
Pioneered nation.com.pk in 2005, building one of Pakistan's most-visited news websites from the ground up — when digital journalism had yet to establish itself in public consciousness.
August 1996 — February 2005
Journalist, Sub-Editor, Copy Writer
Daily Jang · Daily Awaz · Daily Express · Business Plus TV
Trained in Pakistan's greatest newspaper newsrooms under legendary journalists including Khawar Naeem Hashmi, Baidar Bakht Butt, and Akbar Alam. Rose from sub-editor to city pages in-charge at Express, then transitioned to television as bulletin editor and scriptwriter.
٠٤ Scotland Chapter
Bridging worlds
across continents
What began as an MPhil became a mission. In Glasgow, I found a diaspora community rich in talent but without the infrastructure journalists need — no press club, no shared institutional home, no voice that could reach power.
After months of quiet conversations with journalists across Scotland, I founded the Pakistan Press Club Scotland — inaugurated in the presence of Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar. The club became a landmark institution for overseas Pakistani journalism.
During these years I worked alongside Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond, Nicola Sturgeon, Humza Yousaf, and Norman MacLeod — building cross-cultural relationships that only come from genuine, sustained community service.
٠٦ Academic Formation
Education in the arts
2009 - 2010 · ENGLAND
MPhil in Media Production
University of Bedfordshire, UK
2007 · LAHORE
Diploma in Video Production
National College of Arts (NCA)
1996 - 1998 · LAHORE
Diploma in Fine Arts — Sculpture
Punjab Arts Council
1996 - 1998 · LAHORE
Diploma in Fine Arts — Painting
Punjab Arts Council
1994 - 1996 · LAHORE
Bachelor of Commerce
Punjab College of Commerce
MEMBER SINCE 1999
Lahore Press Club · Punjab Union of Journalists · Pakistan Press Club Scotland (Founder & First Secretary General)
Professional Memberships
٠٧ Fine Arts Practice
A life in fine arts
Before every press release, every broadcast, every documentary — there is a painter's eye, a sculptor's hand, and a poet's ear. The arts are not a side interest; they are the foundation from which everything else is built.
Photography
Through the Lens — Wildlife & Landscape
A trained eye does not stop at the camera viewfinder. Sharqui's photography — from the cranes of Punjab to moonlit skies — reflects a formal training in composition and light. Each image is a statement of vision as much as technique.
Painting
Two Years, Canvas & Colour
Punjab Arts Council, 1996–98. A full diploma in painting and drawing, pursued not as decoration but as discipline.
Sculpture
Form & Weight
A concurrent diploma in sculpture — understanding space, mass, and the physical presence of an idea.
Aquascaping
Living Architecture
The art of designing underwater ecosystems — where biology meets aesthetics.
Poetry & Literature
Rumi, Spirituality & the Human Condition
A home steeped in Urdu literary tradition. A mind shaped by the great Persian and Urdu poets. The verse of Rumi is a living compass.
Travel
The World as Curriculum
From Lahore to Glasgow, London to Dubai — every journey a lesson in culture, people, and story.
٠٨ Let's Connect
Let's talk.
Whether you have a project, a story to tell, or a question about my work — I'd love to hear from you.