Forty-five years ago, on December 6, 1980, Dr Ishtiaq Hussain Qureishi — then chairman of the National Language Authority (now the National Language Promotion Department) — announced the creation of a computerised Nastaleeq font for Urdu publication. Although it took another year to complete, revolutionising the Urdu publishing industry, this initiative was a crucial link in the centuries-long effort to create a Nastaleeq typeface that would soothe the eyes of Urdu readers.

THE HISTORY OF NASKH AND NASTALEEQ

Nastaleeq, developed in 14th century Iran from the fusion of Naskh and Taleeq, emerged primarily as a Persian calligraphic hand — celebrated for its graceful, hanging rhythm and flowing curves. Designed to express the aesthetic elegance of Persian poetry rather than textual efficiency, it slopes diagonally and relies on rounded, overlapping ligatures that enhance beauty but hinder mechanical regularity.

In contrast, one of the earliest Arabic scripts, rooted in the eighth century CE (second century AH), Naskh, with its balanced geometry, clear proportions and uniform line structure, offers superior readability and accuracy, making it the standard script for the Quran, technical and scholarly writings, and printed books. As explained by the art historian Sheila Blair her book Islamic Calligraphy, while Naskh served functional clarity, Nastaleeq embodied artistic refinement and calligraphic sophistication.

That’s why, even within the manuscript tradition, Nastaleeq, primarily a calligraphic style used for poetry, was not the preferred script for scholarly or technical writing — scholars consistently used Naskh for their treatises, commentaries and personal notes since the 8th century CE. Even today, in Iran, the birthplace of Nastaleeq, it remains mainly an artistic hand, while Naskh is employed for most printed materials, such as books, periodicals and newspapers.

What typeface should Urdu be printed in? The two most popular typefaces, Naskh and Nastaleeq, have competed across empires, technologies and political eras for social acceptance, culminating in a typographic legacy that still shapes how millions read Urdu today. But why did Pakistan adopt the Nastaleeq font for Urdu when Arabic and Persian chose Naskh?

In the Ottoman Empire, and later the Arab world too, Naskh has always been the typographic standard. Only in the Indian Subcontinent did Nastaleeq evolve into the standard script for general Urdu publication. As Blair demonstrates, in 16th century India, Nastaleeq was still used primarily for Persian poetry, art and imperial documents, whereas Naskh dominated in scholarly and technical writings.

Over time, however, Nastaleeq became integral to the visual identity of Urdu, symbolising its literary elegance and elite aesthetic, limiting Naskh to specific religious usage, such as for the Holy Quran and other Arabic religious literature. Since the earliest Urdu writings were primarily poetic — scholarly prose developed much later — readers already associated Urdu with the Nastaleeq form.

Colonial printing and linguistic policies further reinforced this distinct visual identity, separating Urdu typographically from both Arabic and Persian traditions. Yet, Nastaleeq’s very beauty and fluidity would later pose the greatest challenge. This challenge emerged with the establishment of the modern printing press in India, resulting in the Urdu publishing industry spending almost two centuries attempting to create a suitable Nastaleeq typeface.

Quoted by the London-based typographic academic Borna Izadpanah in his research paper ‘Simplifying Urdu’, according to a 1963 bulletin by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), “Urdu is probably the only important language in the world which still fights shy of type-printing.”

The emergence of the modern printing press in the 14th century replaced the handwritten manuscript tradition with mass-produced printed books. Not only did it provide an easier, more efficient way to mass-produce books, but it also significantly impacted culture, politics and education, ushering in a new intellectual era in human history.

In the East, specifically in Arabic, Persian and related languages, this technology was yet to be accepted. In the West, it became the primary method of publication. Even the first attempts to publish Arabic books were made there in the 16th century, starting with Kitab Salat as-Sawai — an Arabic Christian devotional work on prescribed daily prayers and supplications, traditionally recited at specific hours of the day and night, which was commissioned by Pope Julius II and printed in 1514 in Fano or Venice.

In the mid-20th century, Naskh typefaces were widely used in academic and governmental presses. In Pakistan, Naskh became the preferred style for official........

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