Karachi Pakistan – The Pakistan-based Founding Directors of the Pakistan Literature Festival in London Ameena Saiyid (OBE, SI) and Shayma Saiyid are delighted to invite you to a Press Conference on Thursday, 8 June 2023 at 4.30 p.m. at the National Academy of Performing Arts (Basement Theater), M.R Kyani Road, Civil Lines, Karachi. High tea will follow.
Esteemed members of the electronic and print media will be briefed by the founding directors. Participating speakers traveling to London from Karachi, and supporters will also be present at and available for interviews including Amin Hashwani, Khawar Mehdi, Shabbar Zaidi, Tariq Alexander Qaiser, Vazira Zamindar, Inaam Nadeem, Sayeeda Leghari and Pomme Amina Gohar who will MC the #PLFL2023.
The Pakistan Literature Festival in London was founded and registered in May 2019 by Ameena Saiyid, Farooq Naseem Bajwa, Nadir Cheema, Shayma Saiyid, David Taylor, and Tariq Suleman. The first edition was to be held at Conway Hall in 2020 but was delayed due to Covid. It will now be held on Saturday, 17 June 2023 at Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London, UK from 10 am until 10:30 pm.
Pakistan has seen a renaissance of festivals since the first of its kind was founded in 2010 by Ameena Saiyid (OBE, SI) & Asif Farrukhi in Karachi, to celebrate writers, artists, debate, dance, and free expression. The Pakistan Literature Festival (a UK nonprofit) is a part of this movement.
At the Pakistan Literature Festival in London, the audience will experience book launches, talks, interviews, discussions, dance, and film clips. Almost a hundred Pakistani and international authors, intellectuals, and media personalities will be participating in the #PLFL2023.
Around 31 speakers are traveling from Pakistan to attend, including: Ali Khan, Ameena Saiyid, Amin Hashwani, Anjum Halai, Asma Faiz, Azhar Abbas, Faisal Mushtaq, Dr. Farzana, Fatema Hasan, Fatima Asad-Said, Iftikhar Malik, Inaam Nadeem, Ishrat Husain, Mahvish Ahmed, Makhdoom Ali Khan, Mohammad Waseem, Muhammad Hassan Khan, Pomme Amina Gohar, Qamar Ahmed, Rashed Rahman, Razi Ahmed, Sayeeda Leghari, Shabbar Zaidi, Shahbaz Taseer, Shayma Saiyid, Stephen Lyon, Syed Khawar Mehdi, Tara Uzra Dawood, Tariq Alexander Qaiser, Tariq Suleman, Zafar Masud.
The legendary playwright and scriptwriter Javed Siddiqui will travel from India to be in conversation with Saif Mahmood, author of Beloved Delhi: A Mughal City and Her Greatest Poets. Khalil ul Rehman (poet and Supreme Court advocate) will also travel from India to participate in the Mushairah.
Speakers traveling from the US to attend include Kamran Asdar Ali, Sadia Abbas, Mo Muzammal (whose PhD focuses on Jamil Dehlavi and who will be in conversation with Jamil Dehlavi about his oeuvre), and Ghazanfar Hashmi who will participate in the Mushairah.
Ex-governor State Bank Reza Baqir will be traveling from Dubai.
Sadaf Saaz, organizer of the Dhaka Literature Festival will travel from Dhaka to speak at #PLFL2023.
Traveling from Italy will be the award-winning acclaimed dancer and actress Suhaee Abro, who will perform to the music of the late, legendary singer, Musaddiq Sanwal. Her performance will be introduced by Musaddiq’s life partner, Shehla Zaidi who is UK-based. Acclaimed Kathak artist Shayma Saiyid (traveling from Pakistan) will offer a brief dance tribute to the late Sheherezade Alam, Jahanara Akhlaq, and Sandhya Desai.
Other UK-based speakers include: Aamer Hussein, Ahmed Alauddin Jamal, Amina Yaqin, Aqueel Danish, Arshad Lateef, Asad Ali, Asad Qureshi, Asma Khan, Basir Kazmi, Bushra Zulfiqar, Chris Moffat, Faisal Devji, Faiza Sultan Khan, Faizan Arif, Farooq Naseem Bajwa, Farzana Shaikh, Hilal Fareed, Huma Yusuf, Humeira Iqtidar, Jamil Dehlavi, Kamal Munir, Karen Armstrong, Khalilur Rahman, Loveleen Kacker, Maliha Haider, Marie Lall, Mehjabeen Ghazal Ansari, Mukulika Banerjee, Mustafa Shahab, Nadir Cheema, Najam Abbas, Najma Usman, Nigham Shahid, Nikhat Iftikhar, Nisa Saiyid, Noor Zaheer, Paul Flather, Richard Heller, Rukhsana Ahmad, Saif Mahmood, Saira Awan Malik, Sarah Ansari, Sarmila Bose, Shamim Shahan, Shazaf Fatima Haider, Sohail Zarrar Khalish (Suhail Zarrar Beg Chughtai), Sulema Jahangir, Tanjina Nur-i-Siddique, Tariq Ali Tasneem Hassan, Umber Khairi, William Crawley, Yashab Tamanna, Yasmeen Lari, Yasser Kureshi
The South Asian Mushairah (organized by Fatema Hassan (Pakistan-based) and Noor Zaheer (UK-based Indian) will be unique. Poets with roots in Bangladesh (Shamim Shahan, Tanjina Nur-i-Siddique, Mustafa Hassan), India (Hilal Fareed, Khalilur Rehman, Mustafa Shahab), and Pakistan (Fatema Hassan, Sohail Zarrar Khalish, Arshad Latif, Aqueel Danish, Basir Kazmi, Ghazal Ansari, Ghazanfar Hashmi, Inaam Nadeem, Najma Usman, Nikhat Iftikhar, Nisa Saiyid, Tasneem Hassan, Yashab Tamanna, Faizan Arif) will recite poetry in Urdu, English, as well as in Bengali.
Tickets are available at www.buytickets.at/pakistanlitfest www.linktr.ee/pakistanlitfest
