The 15th International Urdu Conference is set to begin in the afternoon today at the Arts Council of Pakistan (ACP). The four-day event, which has become a signature annual cultural event of the city, will feature talks by literary luminaries not only belonging to Karachi but also from across the country and abroad.
During the four days from December 1 till 4, hundreds of language, literature, art and culture experts from all over the world will express their views in more than 45 sessions. A book fair will also be held during the conference, in which dozens of books would also be launched.
According to the programme of the conference released by the ACP, the event is set to start at 3:30pm with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah as the special guest. The luminaries who would grace the inaugural session include Zehra Nigah, Iftikhar Arif, Kishwar Naheed, Pirzada Qasim, Rauf Parekh and Noorul Huda Shah.
The keynote addresses would be delivered by notable critic Nasir Abbas Nayyar and linguist Alex Bellem associated with the Aga Khan University, London. The first day would also feature a session on Allama Iqbal, readings of literary texts by Zia Muhyeddin and a Qawwali show.
In the following three days of the conference, there would be sessions on various languages of Pakistan and various genres of Urdu literature. There would also be talks on some significant writers and poets such as Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi, Syed Muhammad Jafri and Shaukat Siddiqui and some writers and critics who recently passed away.
At a press conference held on Tuesday, ACP President Ahmad Shah said the annual Urdu conference started 15 years ago and now it had become a signature event of the city. He said that in the 15th International Urdu Conference, there would be literary meetings, Mushaira, qawwali, dance, and everything connected with a culture.
Iftikhar Arif had also spoken at the press conference. He said he had not seen any other institution that had worked so much for literature as the ACP had. He request the people to advertise the event as much as possible.