NBF’s 6th National Book Day Festival inaugurated

Islamabad
The National Book Foundation (NBF) kicked off its five-day 6th National Book Day Festival at the Pak-China Friendship Centre here on Wednesday.
Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Senator Pervaiz Rashid inaugurated the event, says a press release.
Ambassador of Turkey to Pakistan Sadik Babur Girgin was guest of honour on the occasion.
The significance of the event is to provide an opportunity to people to buy books at discounted prices from the bookstalls established at the venue. The prime purpose of celebrating National Book Day is to inculcate reading habit and promotion of education in Pakistan.
A large number of people participated in the festival.
The chief guest, Senator Pervaiz Rashid, expressing his views on the occasion, appreciated the efforts of NBF in holding the festival by adding interesting and informative segments. He said that the NBF has taken positive steps for promotion of book culture in the country. The minister said that the slogan, ‘Book and Peace go Together’ is really the need of the hour in Pakistan. “The promotion of book culture and inculcation of book-reading habit among people can lead us to the way of prosperity, progress and development in every field of life,” he said.
He said that the image of Pakistan and nation could be rebuilt by creating book-reading habit and NBF was playing a vital role in this regard.
The guest of honour, Ambassador of Turkey to Pakistan Sadik Babur Girgin, said that Turkey and Pakistan have very close and historic brotherly relations. He appreciated the good contributions of Pakistan in promotion of cultural activities and common literature of Pakistan and Turkey among people.
Renowned writer and legend of Urdu literature Atta-ul-Haq Qasmi also expressed his views in the opening ceremony and said that being a progressive nation, Pakistanis are taking keen interest in books.
Raja Hassan Abbas, secretary of the Cabinet Division, said that the NBF has been playing an important and central role in promotion of knowledge, literacy and education in the country.
National Book Foundation Managing Director Dr. Inam-ul-Haq Javeid delivered welcome address and highlighted the functions and achievements of the organisation. He said that the 6th National Book Day is being celebrated at Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar simultaneously. He said that the NBF has launched different schemes for promotion of book culture and book-reading habit, including Readers Club Scheme, publication of books on different topics and subjects, developing new textbooks and introducing Mobile Bookshops.