KARACHI: The third and last day of the 11th Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) on Sunday drew a huge crowd of literature lovers while the enthusiastic engagement of visitors, including authors, artists, and literati was indicative of the inspiring ideas and debates the KLF generated.
Several stimulating discussions, including one titled ‘Urdu Adab Ki Rang-a-Rang Jehtainö’ with Azra Abbas, Arfa Sayeda Zehra, Attiya Dawood, Masud Mufti and Asghar Nadeem Syed, were held with a high number of attendees.
Another popular session was ‘Student Politics in Pakistan: Back to the Future’ with Arooj Aurangzeb, Faisal Subzwari, Azhar Abbas, Khalid Amin, and Naghma Iqtidar as panellists and Nadeem Farooq Paracha as the moderator.
An exciting session titled ‘Pakistani Cinema in the 21st Century’ featured Faseeh Bari Khan, Saqib Malik, Faysal Qureshi, Sheheryar Munawar Siddiqui, Bee Gul, and Sangeeta as speakers.
A discussion on ‘Karachi’s Literary Heritage: A Celebration’ took place featuring Ghazi Salahuddin, Iftikhar Ali Shallwani, Peerzada Salman, Rumana Husain, and Maniza Naqvi as speakers. Maps of Belonging was the title of a conversation between Muneeza Shamsie and award-winning writer Ahdaf Soueif.
A stimulating discussion was carried out in the panel discussion on ‘Financial Inclusion and Women Empowerment’ between Reza Baqir, Ayesha Aziz, Ishrat Husain, and Muhammad Aurangzeb.
The session ‘Kashmir: The Paradise Lost’ attracted a lot of attention. Panellists included Victoria Schofield, Athar Abbas, Mushaal Hussein Mullick, and Sardar Masood Khan.
A fun-filled session titled ‘Punching Up: Young Comedians Redefining Satire’ featured Shehzad Ghias, Ali Gul Pir, Natalia Gul, and Gul Zaib Shakeel. It was moderated by Hamna Zubair.
There were readings on ‘Asad Mohammad Khan: The Living Legend by Zia Mohyeddin’.
The topic ‘Media Crisis: Who is Responsible?’ was discussed by Azhar Abbas, Mubashir Zaidi, Owais Tohid and Sabrina Toppa.
The 3rd and final day of the KLF concluded with a talk by the inimitable media person Javed Jabbar. It was titled Mapping Pakistan’s Cultural Evolution over the Past 72 Years and highlighted the very imaginative, inspiring and uplifting journey of culture and art through Pakistanis seven decades long existence.
The chief guest of the closing ceremony, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan said that every year, Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) creates a tremendous space for an exchange of ideas and promotion of literature in Pakistan. “It is great to see that the festival organisers have created and sustained a literary space which was dying because of other available mediums,” he added.
Masood Khan said that he was glad to see that the attendees looked satisfied and at peace, free enough to attend a literature festival. “Unfortunately, people in occupied Kashmir do not have that luxury,” he said as he urged everyone to speak up for Kashmiris.
Keynote speeches were made by Dr Ahdaf Soueif and Harris Khalique, while a vote of thanks was delivered by the festival’s organiser Arshad Saeed Husain, managing director, and Oxford University Press, Pakistan.
