The Conception of Karachi Literature Festival

Launched in March, 2010, the Karachi Literature Festival has been making immense success in terms of bringing all the literary figures on a single platform and sharing their amazing stories. Karachi Literature festival is a reflection of the depth of Pakistan’s literature history as well as cultural roots. It is depiction of the enthusiasm and desire amongst the people of Pakistan to move towards creative growth, learning and understanding.

Every year, speakers from different parts of the country have been contributing to this event by sharing their literature stories and mesmerizing the audiences.

Karachi Literature Festival 2016

This year, the 7^th KLF comes with a new zeal and aim in Islamabad and Karachi. The first event was held on 5^th, 6^th and 7^th of February in which prominent speakers and authors paid tribute to Intezar Hussain who is one of the most distinguished Pakistani writers.

The contributions of Intezar Hussain were discussed by the speakers for Urdu Literature. He has been known for his versatility and his work is an asset for the country. This is so because his work is recognized all over the world and his contribution towards the literature of Pakistan is incomparable. Not only this, he has been a speaker at KLF too.

Interestingly, in this year’s KLF local and foreign authors from US, UK, Italy, France and India also participated in order to inspire and motivate the audience.

Opening Ceremony of Karachi Literature Festival 2016

The opening ceremony was held on Friday, at the Beach Luxury Hotel, Karachi with prominent figures like Asif Farrukhi, Ameena Saiyid (Founder of the Karachi Literature Festival) and Brian Heath (US Council General) attending the function.

The event began with a session named as: “Kashmir: The Never ending Conflict”. This was moderated by Farhan Bokhari and the session was conducted by Rafique Khawari, Jean Luc Racine and Barkha Dutt. This was followed by a short film screening session: “Towards a Better Pakistan”.

Award Ceremony of KLF 2016

An award ceremony was then conducted by Pervaiz Hoodbhoy. The Literacy Excellence Awards by HBL were given to Ghazi Salahuddin, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Anwaar Ahmad, Wajahat Husain, Asif Farrukhi, Arfa Sayeda Zehra, Kishwar Naheed and Framji Minwalla.

Other prominent sessions included “Facing Wrongs and Seeking Rights: The Female Perspective” which was moderated by Shaheen Attiq ur Rahman and conducted by Ruchira Gupta, Feryal Ali Gauhar and Fouzia Saeed.

“Pakistan Modernity and Post-coloniality” was moderated by Hafeez Jamali and conducted by Shahram Azhar and Nauman Naqvi. There was also a documentary workshop organized by Rafeeq Ellias.

The next part of the Karachi Literature Festival is just around the corner too! Mark your calendars with the dates: 15, 16 and 17 April and don’t forget to show up.