ISLAMABAD: An exhibition of photographs featuring Pakistan was held to mark the 10th anniversary of the earthquake that occurred onOctober8,2005.

Over 30 missions in Islamabad contributed images taken by ambassadors and secretaries during their visits. Most of the images featured Pakistan`s northern areas.

The exhibition, titled `Colours of Pakistan through the Eyes of Diplomats`, was a charity event and was held at the Marriott hotel on Wednesday.

The event aimed at raising funds for marginalised women and paraplegic survivors ofthe 2005earthquake.

The event featured two simultaneous exhibitions the photographs by foreign dignitaries and diplomatic missions displayed alongside photos of the 2005 earth-quake by renowned Japanese photographer Kenjiro Sato.

Ambassadors, dignitaries and diplomats from Australia, Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, US, UNHCR, UNOPS and UN-Habitat participated in the event. Live music and dance performances marked the opening of the display, and the event was inaugurated by the Ambassador of Argentina and Dean of Diplomatic Corps Rodolfo Martin Saravia and Ambassador of Japan Hiroshi Inomata. Paper Miracles, a local NGO that organised the event, also spoke aboutthe earthquake.

The highlight of the event was a live dance performance by students from the Islamabad Japanese School to the `Wadaiko`, a traditional Japanese drum played by the Japanese envoy.

The exhibition was also a contest. First prize was awarded to the Indian High Commission First Secretary Janesh Kainfor his photograph of the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore. Second place went to Karvel Van Hecke from the Belgian embassy for a photograph of the Baltoro glacier, and the Hungarian ambassador Istvan Szabo came in third with his photograph `Guardians of the Nation` `The tall mountains are the most attractive feature, where one gets this amazing sense of freedom,` Van Hecke said.

The images were also uploaded to the internet and were assessed based on the number of `likes` they received. The winner by popular vote was Austrian ambassador Brigitta Blaha for her photograph `The Colours of Kalash Valley`.

`From the food, to the hospitality of the people of Kalash, to the scenic mountains, everything made our experience special, Blaha said.

`Journey through the lushgreen valley` by Aiyub Omar from the Malaysian embassy was the second more favouredimage online, and `Beauty of Pakistan` by Lakmal De Silva from the Sri Lankan embassy came in third.

`This has been a brilliant idea, to showcase Pakistan through the eyes of diplomats here. The display will change the perception of Pakistan because they have shown how beautiful Pakistan is, Ambassador Saravia said.

However, it was the image by Kenjiro Sato that portrayed the grief that followed the 2005 earthquake. The earthquake caused great damage to life and property in Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and the northern areas.

`It feels good to be back in Pakistan and show people how people suffered, not just from the natural disaster but how tough their lives got in the aftermath. To be able to show that through my images is something special for a photographer, Sato said.