Book fair continues pulling in crowds on second day

A large number of people, including students of various schools, visited the Expo Centre on Saturday to attend the ongoing Karachi International Book Fair (KIBF) on its second day.

The five-day KIBF will continue at the Expo Centre till December 25.

Despite the fact that schools are closed these days due to winter vacation, several schools arranged transport facilities for students to visit the book fair. The students entered the fair and visited book stalls in queues and took interest in books. The management of more than 10 schools also purchased books from various stalls for their libraries.

Several parents had also brought their children to the book fair in order to inculcate the passion for reading in them. According to the KIBF organisers, as many as 30 stalls at the book fair catered to children.

The second day of the KIBF also featured interactive sessions, dialogues and literary activities. Various political figures, literati and scholars also paid visits to the book fair as all the three halls of the Expo Centre where the KIBF is being held remained crowded throughout the day.

Among the visitors was Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Ahmed Shalwani. Lauding the event, he maintained there was no substitute for books even in this current era of technology.

Shalwani also announced that the Frere Hall Library is being made operational to promote book reading culture in society. Karachi needed public libraries where the citizens could read books without membership, he said.

Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers Association Chairman Khalid Aziz said the association had organised the KIBF on its own resources. “If citizens take more interest in buying books, the fair will be extended to all the halls of the Expo Centre”, he said.

"This kind of international book fair provides an opportunity to the readers, researchers, and scholars to benefit from books and knowledge of foreign countries,” a visitor said, adding that “it is true that digital world impart more and more knowledge for research but the original source of the digital content are the books”.

Thai consul general

Consul General of Thailand in Karachi Thatre Chauvauaata also attended the KIBF where he visited various bookstalls and recorded his impressions in the guestbook.

The Thai consul general also met Pakistani publishers and translators and asked them to propose a comprehensive plan for the translation of prominent Thai literature and other Thai books in Urdu.

“Thai government will provide all kind of assistance to publishers and translators,” he said, adding that “this initiative will help to end academic bearers between Thailand and Pakistan”.

He also assured the KIBF organisers of full representation of Thailand in the next book fair in 2019.