Pakistani artists pay sandy tribute to Saudi crown prince on 38th birthday

QUETTA (Web Desk) : A group of sand artists have made a 70-feet-long portrait of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Gadani Beach in Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province as a tribute on his 38th birthday.

The Rashidi Artists Gaddani group has made more than 100 beach sketches of world’s leaders, sportspeople and film stars in the last four years. Some of the group’s memorable portraits of heads of state include those of the ruler of the United Arab Emirates and the Emir of Qatar. 

In November last year, they also made a sand portrait of Babar Azam, Pakistan’s all-format cricket captain and considered one of the world’s top batters, as a tribute to the Pakistan team as it faced New Zealand in a semifinal game of the ICC T20 World Cup.

“We wanted to wish the crown prince on his 38th birthday, thus we have made his 70-feet-long sandy portrait on Gadani beach,” Sameer Shoukat, a 19-year-old beach artist from Balochistan, told Arab News, a day after the Saudi royal turned 38 on August 31.

The group shared drone footage of the portrait on Gadani beach, some 51 kilometers away from Pakistan’s port city of Karachi.

“Six members of the group took part in making the sandy portrait of the crown prince and we completed the pictures in three hours with rake sticks and ropes.”

Shoukat said he hoped Crown Prince Mohammed would visit Pakistan soon, amid reports he might visit Islamabad after his trip to India for the summit of G-20 nations later this month. There has been no official confirmation of the trip from either side.