KARACHI, NOVEMBER 10, 2024 – Adab Festival Pakistan, the nation’s premier literary event, returned for its 8th edition here earlier today, at Habitt City, bringing together a remarkable lineup of speakers, thinkers, and artists for a full day of insightful discussions, performances, and celebrations of Pakistan’s literary and cultural heritage.
The day kicked off with a highly entertaining play by Khaled Anam of Grips Theatre, ‘Unfit Ball Hai Dunya Meray Agay’, that held universal appeal for children and adults alike. This was followed by a formal inauguration ceremony featuring inspiring speeches by Ameena Saiyid, Munis Abdullah, Shoaib Arshad, and Adab Festival partners. The coveted Adab Festival/Infaq Foundation Literary Awards for Urdu, Sindhi, and English literary works, recognizing the best in each language, came up next, with a special musical performance by Arieb Azhar adding a celebratory tone to the event.
The day unfolded a range of thought-provoking sessions covering subjects ranging from Pakistan’s agricultural potential and cultural heritage to issues of social justice, feminism, and education.
The first discussion session of the day featured Miftah Ismail in conversation with Omayr Aziz Saiyid on economics and governance. This was followed by a gripping talk on Jinnah’s Vision Revisited: Pakistan at 77, featuring Yasser Latif Hamdani, Muhammad Ali Shaikh, Ali Usman Qasmi, and Moderator Syeda Maham Zahra, exploring Pakistan’s journey.
The next session of the day was on Science, Art, and Heritage: a life long journey, which featured a talk by Dr Abed Chaudhury, examining the intersections of science and cultural identity. Simultaneously a session on Nasr, Nazm, Aur Naya Daur featuring Nazim: Arsalan Mirani, Muqarrareen: Saani Syed, Syed Jafar Ahmad, and Imrana Maqsood took place at the Arena.
A critical discussion on Growing Returns. Pakistan’s Agricultural Potential was held, focusing on sustainable development with panelists Syed Naveed Husain, Faisal Jahangir Malik, Dr Abed Chaudhury, and moderator Khurram Schehzad. A parallel session titled Book Talk: Aisha Sarwari’s Heart Tantrums: A Feminist’s Memoir on Misogyny and Marriage, featuring author Aisha Sarwari in conversation with Maria Memon, delving into the challenges women face and the fight for gender equality.
The “Educating Pakistan Success Stories and Best Practices” panel featured educators and activists Nasreen Iqbal, Anjum Halai, Muhammad Ali Shaikh, Muhammad Hassan Khan, and Moderator Shoaib Arshad, who discussed the urgent need for educational reforms in Pakistan. Simultaneously, Book Talk: Dr Tasnim Ahsan’s, The Path I Made took place in which the doctor introduced her book in a thought-provoking session with Huma Baqai, Afia Salam and Dr Saadia Pal.
The festival also featured a soulful session and musical performance titled “Sindh’s Sufi Soul: Shah Abdul Lafit’s Timeless Appeal. Song and Discussion” where Saif Samejo, Dr Sahar Gul, Mahtab Rashdi, and moderator Noorul Huda Shah celebrated the rich Sufi traditions of Sindh through music, poetry, and storytelling, offering a unique exploration of Pakistan’s spiritual heritage. Meanwhile, simultaneously the panel on “Fintech, Busniess, Regulatory Requirements and trends of Electronic Fraud” with experts Sirajuddin Aziz, Syed Naveed Husain, and moderator Naureen Hyat, took place in the arena.
The session titled “The Story of Karachi,” Ali K. Chishti was in conversation with Wajid Isfahani on Karachi’s Transformation, political economy, and dark secrets. Later, Furqan T. Siddiqui joined the lively discussion with Ali K. Chishti on Karachi’s food history. Simultaneously, the session titled “From Bureaucracy to Bestseller: In conversation with the legend Salman Faruqui about life lesson and career advice” with students Jawad Khan, Rabia Nasir, Awaab Imam, and Umer Khan in conversation with Salman Faruqui took place.
The next session was “Book Launch. Omar Shahid Hamid’s The Election” presented by Safinah Danish Elahi (author and publisher) and Taha Kehar (author).
The festival concluded with a satire performance by Anwar Maqsood, followed by a musical performance by Arieb Azhar.
The Adab Festival was co-founded by Ameena Saiyid and Asif Farrukhi as an annual literary event which brought together diverse voices and celebrated Pakistan’s rich literary heritage, reaffirming the Festival’s commitment to promoting culture, literature, and intellectual dialogue, with plans to host multiple events in the future.
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