6th Islamabad literature festival launched

Islamabad “I am so happy to note present the city of Islamabad a distinct cultural flavour with the 6th Islamabad Literature Festival.

The Islamabad Literature Festival was launched in 2013. Like the Karachi Literature Festival, which pioneered the trend of literature festivals across the country, this Festival began as an act of defiance against the forces of bigotry, violence, and repression, which were then threatening to overwhelm literary and cultural expression.”

This was stated by Arshad Saeed Hussain, Managing Director, Oxford University Press, in his welcome address at the inauguration of the 6th Islamabad Literature Festival which is being organised by Oxford University Press from Sept 27-29, 2019 at the Margalla Hotel, Islamabad. The ILF was first held in 2013.

He further added: “Over the next two and half days, the various scholarly and creative minds gathered here will deliberate on many issues.There will also be sessions on the economy covering the current economic challenges and the impact of current taxation regime on the common man, on Pakistan’s foreign relations and our geopolitical positioning; on the educational issues of today and the emerging classrooms of tomorrow.

There will be screenings of documentary films and sessions featuring the fine arts, theatre, music, and satire. And, of course, there will be sessions about novels, short stories, poetry, book launches, book discussions, Mushairas in Urdu and English and regional literature in Potohari and Punjabi.”

Dr. Marc Barety, Ambassador of France to Pakistan and Mark Crossey, Deputy Director, British Council, Pakistan, also delivered speeches on the occasion.

They applauded the Islamabad Literature Festival and appreciated the manner in which it has succeeded in emphasizing Pakistani literature and culture. They felt the contribution of the ILF in building Pakistan’s soft image was invaluable.

Opening remarks were made on the occasion by Ikram Sehgal, Chairman, Pathfinder Group and K-Electric, as well as by Iftikhar Arif and Muneeza Shamsie, members of the 6th ILF Advisory Board.

Haseena Moin and Navid Shehzad presented keynote speeches on the occasion.The Islamabad Literature Festival, spread over three days, is featuring more than 150 speakers this year (including 10 international speakers). Over 55 sessions on different subjects have been lined up for the three days of the Festival and more than 9 books are being launched.

On the first day of the ILF, two performances drew a lot of interest. One was a dance of peace and understanding (Anand Taandav) by Iftikhar Masih. Another was ’22 Crore’ by Laal Hartal. This was a tribute to the revolutionary poet Habib Jalib. Hina Rabbani Khar, Athar Abbas and Arif Kamal held a discussion on the topic ‘Kashmir: The Valley Seized’, which was moderated by Ikram Sehgal.

The book ‘The Begum: A Portrait of Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan,’ written by Deepa Agarwal and Tahmina Aziz, was launched at the event. The launch featured a panel discussion in which Tahmina Aziz, SamiaLiaquat Ali Khan and Amir Rana participated. It was moderated by MuneezaShamsie.

The documentary film ‘Indus Blues’, directed and produced by Jawad Sharif, was screened. The film highlights Pakistani folk artistes and their struggles to keep their art form alive.

Jahan-e-Sufi - a fusion of folk and ‘qawwali’ – was presented by the Bakhshi Brothers on the first evening.