400,000 likely to visit annual book fair as grand event starts today

The 17th Karachi International Book Fair (KIBF) will start on Thursday (today). The KIBF managing committee revealed at a press conference that besides 150 leading publishers and booksellers of Pakistan, 40 exhibitors from 17 countries will participate in the event.

Organised by the Pakistan Publishers & Booksellers Association (PPBA), the five-day programme will be held at the Karachi Expo Centre in three halls: Exhibition Hall No. 1, Exhibition Hall No. 2 and Exhibition Hall No. 3.

Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah will inaugurate the book fair as the chief guest. Former member provincial assembly Mahtab Akbar Rashdi will be the key note speaker, while Universities & Boards Minister Muhammad Ismail Rahoo will be the guest of honour.

After its inception in 2005, KIBF has now achieved the distinction of being the country’s largest consumer or trade fair. The event brings together publishing and distribution houses, domestic and international publishers, booksellers, librarians and institutional customers on a single platform.

Publishers from Iran, India, Turkey, Singapore, China, Malaysia, England, UAE and other countries are attending the international event. KIBF has become a remarkable literary event, with educated and motivated visitors from all walks of life.

More than 300 stands will display books on various subjects to discerning readers, including a large numbers of families, students and book lovers from all over the country. 17th KIBF Convener Waqar Mateen Khan expressed his gratitude to the publishers and booksellers for their participation in the fair, and the managing committee for their untiring efforts to make this event possible. He hoped that just like in the previous book fairs, this year’s event will also see a record-breaking number of visitors.

PPBA Chairman Aziz Khalid stressed that this edition will be remarkable and distinctive, as efforts are being made to establish effective working relationships with key international book fairs, leading towards an exchange of professional expertise for highlighting the importance of book fairs at national and international levels.

“Fairs are not only book exhibits any more; international book fairs are very important forums not only for publishers but also for government agencies and missions as an effective tool for diplomacy,” he pointed out.

“Also underlined is the commitment to the propagation of knowledge by highlighting the values of humanism and ethics that promote tolerance, discussions and openness to others in a civilised society.”

KIBF aims to motivate the nation’s youth and students to take part in cultural and creative activities to strengthen their role as pillars of an intellectually, scientifically and culturally flourishing future.

Khalid said that around 400,000 people are expected to visit the 17th KIBF. The event will be visited by book lovers, students from all groups and ages, professionals from all walks of life, academicians, writers, librarians and the general public.

Various book launches and book release ceremonies will also be held for notable writers during the fair, besides various entertaining contests of drawing, recitation, extempore speech and quizzes for children.

The event’s timings are 10am to 9pm daily from December 8 to December 12. 17th KIBF Deputy Convener Syed Nasir Hussain, Nadeem Mazhar, M Iqbal Ghaziani, Iqbal Saleh Mohammad, Nadeem Akhtar, Kamran Noorani, Owais Mirza Jamil and Saleem Abdul Hussain were also present at the press conference.