8th Karachi Literary Festival To Begin On Friday

KARACHI, Feb 9 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2017 ) : A three-day 8th Karachi Literary Festival (KLF) will open on Friday with known historian Ayesha Jalal and fiction writer Mustansar Hussain Tarar as the keynote speakers at the inaugural session.

The festival that has emerged to be an annual feature in the literary and cultural horizon of the metropolis will be attended by writers and artists from different parts of the world. Since the current year literary festival coincides with 70th anniversary of Pakistan's independence therefore there will be 70 different sessions including those related to the happening itself, the organisers said.

Authors from India, Maldives and America are specially attending the event and one of the prominent guest is Roger Long, the biographer of the country's first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan Some 176 speakers, including 136 from Pakistan and 40 from 10 other countries will deliberate on social and cultural issues linked to the country in particular and world in general.

American philanthropist Bobby Sager and writer Mohammed Hanif will deliver keynote speeches on the closing day. A special session has been arranged under the tile "Phool Aur Shabnam" to honour one time most popular actor of the country Shabnam Ghosh.

The lady presently settled in Bangladesh will grace the occasion alongwith her son. Literary prize distribution ceremony is expected to be a hallmark of the festival, during which prizes under fiction prize, non fiction prize, best book in urdu categories alongwith Italy Reads Pakistan Prize and special prize announced by German Consul-General will be awarded to the work short listed by a panel of jurists.

Visual and performing arts including musical evening featuring Saif Samejo, Urdu and English mushairas and readings by Zia Mohyeddinare are integral parts of the festival. Films, specially one on Parween Rehman, will be screened during the three day event.