The Karachi Biennale in Pakistan has cancelled its fifth edition, which had been scheduled for January 16 through January 31, 2027. The announcement came in an Instagram statement on Friday, October 9, in which organisers cited logistical constraints and uncertainties amid war conditions prevailing in the region. It is not yet clear which specific circumstances or events in the region contributed to the decision. The cancellation reportedly came without the input of the biennale's curator, Noor Ahmed, according to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn's cultural imprint, Images. Ahmed told Hyperallergic that artists and partners had been contacting her and that they were disappointed by how communications and commitments were being handled. For the past 13 months, she had engaged more than 100 artists and practices for the biennale and had enlisted three people to co-curate sections of the event. The biennale was to have welcomed artists to Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and the capital of its Sindh province. The Karachi Biennale Trust, which organises the event, has not replied to Hyperallergic's immediate request for comment. The abrupt cancellation leaves a hole in the region's exhibition calendar and raises questions about how large-scale cultural events are planned and communicated when geopolitical pressures mount. For the artists and partners who had committed work, time and travel plans over more than a year, the decision, and the way it was communicated, has become as much a part of the story as the cancellation itself. Whether the fifth edition will be restaged at a later date remains unanswered.