Karachi Literature Festival (KLF), the first and by far the foremost literature festival in the country, needs no introduction. It has become an integral part of the social and intellectual calendar of this city and, indeed, of the country.
Digital Edition.
12th Karachi Literature Festival 2021
#KhiLF
11th KLF Speakers
Omar Shahid Hamid is a senior police officer and author of four novels. His first novel, The Prisoner , was longlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian…
Omar Shahid Hamid
senior police officer and author
A leading nuclear physicist, public figure, and commentator. Currently, Pervez Hoodbhoy is the Zohra and Z.Z. Ahmad Distinguished Professor of Physics and Mathematics at FC College University, Lahore.…
Pervez Hoodbhoy
nuclear physicist, public figure, and commentator
11th KLF Programme
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Day 1
Feb 28, 2020
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Day 2
Feb 29, 2020
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Day 3
Mar 1, 2020
- Main Garden
- Jasmine
- Aquarius
- Room 007
- Tulip
Main Garden
Arrival of Guests
4.30 p.m. -
5.00 p.m.
Main Garden
Welcome Speech by the Festival Organizer: Arshad Saeed Husain, Managing Director, Oxford University Press Pakistan
5.00 p.m. -
5.15 p.m.
Main Garden
Speech by the Chief Guest: Shafqat Mahmood, Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training
5.15 p.m. -
5.25 p.m.
Main Garden
Speeches by the Guests of Honour: Christian Turner, British High Commissioner; Anna Ruffino, Italian Consul General
5.25 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Main Garden
Book Awards: KLF-Getz Pharma Fiction Prize, KLF-HabibMetro Non-Fiction Prize, KLF-Infaq Foundation Urdu Literature Prize
5.45 p.m. -
6.05 p.m.
Main Garden
Keynote Speeches by William Dalrymple and Zaheda Hina
6.05 p.m. -
6.40 p.m.
Main Garden
A Tribute to Perveen Shakir: Kathak performance by Zahshanné Malik
6.40 p.m. -
7.00 p.m.
Main Garden
The Story of Qawwali
A Talk by Ally Adnan Performance by Ghayoor-Moiz-Mustafa Qawwal, Farid Ayaz and Abu Mohammad
7.00 p.m. -
9.00 p.m.
Jasmine
Education in Pakistan: A Roller coaster Ride
Shafqat Mahmood, Asad Ali Shah, Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Amjad Waheed, and Shahid Siddiqui
7.00 p.m. -
8.00 p.m.
Moderator : Baela Raza Jamil
Aquarius
Challenges to International Diplomacy Today
Christian Turner, Shahid Amin, and Tariq Waseem Ghazi
7.00 p.m. -
8.00 p.m.
Moderator : Shaheen Salahuddin
Room 007
Women of Substance: Fatima Jinnah, Benazir Bhutto, and Asma Jahangir
Victoria Schofield, Sheema Kermani, and Karamat Ali
7.00 p.m. -
8.00 p.m.
Moderator : Fouzia Saeed
Tulip
The Atlantic Muse by the Arabian Sea: Poetry in English
Adrian Husain, Arfa Ezazi, Farida Faizullah, Fatima Ijaz, Harris Khalique, Ilona Yusuf, Maya Nadeem, Peerzada Salman, Sadaf Halai, and Tehmina Ahmed
7.00 p.m. -
8.00 p.m.
Moderator : Salman Tarek Kureshi
- Main Garden
- Jasmine
- Aquarius
- Room 007
- Tulip
Room 007
Workshop: Media Literacy and Misinformation Conducted by Sabrina Toppa
Pre-registration is required
10.00 a.m. -
11.00 a.m.
Room 007
Book Discussion: Karaiz by Farrukh Yar
11.00 a.m. -
11.30 a.m.
Moderator : Waheed Noor
Main Garden
Forgotten Masters: Indian Painting for the East India Company edited by William Dalrymple
A Presentation by William Dalrymple. Introduction: George Fulton
11.00 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Jasmine
Love, Relationships and Muslim Women’s Writing
Claire Chambers, Muneeza Shamsie, David Waterman, and Sabyn Javeri
11.00 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Moderator : Ilona Yusuf
Aquarius
Aanay Walay Dinon kay Safeer: Taaza Tehreerain
Hani Baloch, Inshal Jawed, Usman Abdul Qayyum, and Ammar Abbasi
11.00 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Moderator : Ghazal Ansari
Room 007
Book Launch: Zair e Aasman by Shahid Siddiqui
11.30 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Moderator : Anwer Sen Roy
Tulip
Indus Flows: Poetry, Mysticism, and Romance
Khaled Anam, Sarwat Mohiuddin, and Harris Khalique
11.00 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Moderator : Arfana Mallah
Main Garden
Aurton kay Takhleeqi Shaoor say Inkaar Kyun?
Zehra Nigah and Arfa Sayeda Zehra in conversation
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Jasmine
Dastangoi by NAPA
The performance will feature pieces from: Marhoom ki Yaad Mein by Patras Bukhari, Zikr e Khooban al Maroof Aurat ki Takhleeq by Mir Baqir Ali, Fasana e Azaad by Pandit Ratan Nath Sarshar
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Aquarius
Book Launch: Soul Rivals: State, Militant and Pop Sufism in Pakistan by Nadeem Farooq Paracha
Nadeem Farooq Paracha
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Arieb Azhar
Room 007
Traditional Music on Modern Media: Is there a Symphony in this Noise?
Sharif Awan and Athar Masood. Presented by Tehzeeb
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Fouzia Saeed
Tulip
The Political Character of Pakistani Middle Class
Asad Sayeed, Ghazi Salahuddin, and Huma Baqai
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Yasir Qazi
Main Garden
Love to Hear Sanam Saeed reads Hijabistan
Sabyn Javeri, Sanam Saeed, and Saima Saleem
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Jasmine
Peace through Performance
Introduction: Sheema Kermani Tehrik-e-Niswan presents an enactment of Ismat Chugtai's short story 'Kaafir' promoting interfaith harmony
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Aquarius
Khawateen ka Mazahimati Adab
Kishwar Naheed and Noorul Huda Shah in conversation
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Tulip
Book Launch: Tooti hui Tanab Udhar by Asghar Nadeem Syed
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Moderator : Nasir Abbas Nayyar
Room 007
Book Launch: Aasaan Khanay Imrana Maqsood kay Saath
Imrana Maqsood
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Moderator : Asma Tirmizi and Nezihe Hussain
Main Garden
The Deepening Crisis of the Middle East
Ahdaf Soueif, Massimo Ramaioli, Shahid Amin, and Zafar Hilaly
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Khalid Banuri
Jasmine
Getz Pharma presents The EACPE Film Awards 2019: 'Is Pakistan a Brave Nation?'
Framji Minwalla, and Sabiha Sumar
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Pervez Hoodbhoy
Tulip
The Spoken Word (Performance Poetry)
Annum Salman, Vaneeza Sohail, Shehrbano Naqvi, Shameneh Majid, Zoha Jabbar, Hamza Iftikar, Zain Baweja, and Batool Hasan. Presented by Spoken Stage
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Mariam Paracha
Aquarius
Drop by Drop: Karachi's Water Crisis
Farrukh Rasheed, Babar Siddiqui, Wusatullah Khan, and Khalid Shaikh. Presented by Hubco
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Simi Kamal
Room 007
Shumali aur Lateeni Amreeki Adab Pakistan Mein
Nasim Syed, Nasir Abbas Nayyar, Syed Kashif Raza
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Nasira Zuberi
Main Garden
Book Launch: The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company by William Dalrymple
A Presentation by William Dalrymple. Introduction: George Fulton. Sponsored by HBL
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Jasmine
Book Discussion: Prison Interlude: The Last Eyewitness Account of the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case by Zafarullah Poshni
Zafar Ullah Poshni, Mazhar Abbas, Kamal Azfar, and Wusatullah Khan
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Owais Tohid
Room 007
Book Launch: On Their Own Terms: Early Twenty First Century Women’s Movements in Pakistan by Fouzia Saeed
Atiqa Odho and Fouzia Saeed
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Mahtab Akbar Rashdi
Aquarius
Noon Meem Rashid: Nazm e Azad, Shayar e Azad
Asghar Nadeem Syed, Nasim Syed, and Khalid Ahmad. Sponsored by ATCO Laboratories Ltd
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Mujahid Barelvi
Tulip
Book Launch: Subjective Atlas of Pakistan by Taqi Shaheen and Annelys de Vet
Taqi Shaheen, Muhammad Hassan Miraj, Mahim Maher, and Sara Khan Pathan
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Arieb Azhar
Main Garden
Blood over Different Shades of Green: East Pakistan 1971: History Revisited
Chair: Imran Ismail, Ikram Sehgal, Huma Baqai, and Bettina Robotka
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Moderator : Owais Tohid
Aquarius
Stage and Teleplay Shaping Society
Kaif Ghaznavi, Khaled Anam, Bee Gul, Haseena Moin, and Sanam Saeed
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Moderator : Ahmed Shah
Tulip
Book Launch: Interpretations of Jihad: An Intellectual History by Tariq Rahman
Tariq Rahman and Pervez Hoodbhoy
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Moderator : Syed Jaffar Ahmed
Room 007
Sindh's Economy: The Untapped Potential
Aijaz Ahmed Qureshi, Ishrat Husain, Tahira Raza, and Shamsuddin Shaikh
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Moderator : Nadeem Hussain
Jasmine
Book Launch: Beydari by Beo Zafar, translated by Asma Nabeel
Beo Zafar, Asma Nabeel, and Javed Jabbar Readings by Yasra Rizvi, Arieb Azhar, Raju Jamil, Talat Hashmi, Paro Raza, Ayesha Usmani, Ruby Haider, Irshad Abdulkadir, Khurshid Hadi, Shabnam Jabbar, Shamira Mapara, and Zaheer Hussain
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Aquarius
Why Write Fiction?
Sadia Abbas, Omar Shahid Hamid, Claire Chambers, and Taha Kehar
6.00 p.m. -
7.00 p.m.
Moderator : David Waterman
Jasmine
Urdu Mushaira. Sadarat: Iftikhar Arif. Nizamat: Faisal Subzwari
Ahmad Atta, Anwar Shaoor, Fazil Jamili, Harris Khalique, Jawaid Saba, Kishwar Naheed, Najma Usman, Nasim Syed, Nasira Zuberi, Neelum Ahmad Basheer, Rukhsana Saba, Sarwat Mohiuddin, Seema Ghazal, Tasneem Hassan, and Waheed Noor
6.00 p.m. -
9.00 p.m.
Room 007
Sindh mein Nisai Adab
Noorul Huda Shah, Attiya Dawood, Amar Sindhu, and Fahmida Hussain
6.00 p.m. -
7.00 p.m.
Moderator : Arfana Mallah
Tulip
The New Global Geopolitics of Museums
6.00 p.m. -
7.00 p.m.
Sheherbano Husain, and Taimur Suri
Moderator : Niilofur Farrukh
Room 007
Book Launch: Transgressions: Poems Inspired by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
by Anjum Altaf
7.15 p.m. -
7.45 p.m.
Moderator : Aquila Ismail
Main Garden
Feature Film Screening: Baaji
Discussion with the film director Saqib Malik
6.00 p.m. -
9.00 p.m.
Moderator : Ally Adnan
Main Garden
Musical Performace by ACMA Band
Presented by Arts Council of Pakistan
9.30 p.m. -
10.30 p.m.
- Main Garden
- Jasmine
- Aquarius
- Room 007
- Tulip
Main Garden
Urdu Adab ki Rang-a-rang Jehtain
Azra Abbas, Arfa Sayeda Zehra, Attiya Dawood, Masud Mufti, and Asghar Nadeem Syed
11.00 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Moderator : Tauseeq Haider
Jasmine
Karachi's Literary Heritage: A Celebration
Ghazi Salahuddin, Iftikhar Ali Shallwani, Peerzada Salman, Rumana Husain, and Maniza Naqvi
11.00 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Moderator : Maheen Usmani
Aquarius
Baluchistan: Engaging the Twain
Kaiser Bengali, Khawar Mehdi, Rafiullah Kakar, and Yasmeen Lehri
11.00 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Moderator : Hafeez Jamali
Tulip
Book Launch: P.S. Pestonjee by Arif Mahmood
Arif Mahmood and Framji Minwalla
11.00 a.m. -
11.30 a.m.
Moderator : Hasan Zaidi
Tulip
Book Launch: Dabi Sanson ka Shor by Zubair Murshed
11.30 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Moderator : Huma Mir
Main Garden
Student Politics in Pakistan: Back to the Future
Arooj Aurangzeb, Faisal Subzwari, Azhar Abbas, Khalid Amin, and Naghma Iqtidar
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Nadeem Farooq Paracha
Aquarius
B. M. Kutty: Life and Struggle
Karamat Ali, Abdul Malik Baloch, Yousuf Musti Khan, and Syed Jaffar Ahmed
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Mujahid Barelvi
Room 007
Writing Cricket
Omar Shahid Hamid, author of The Fix and Qamar Ahmed, author of Far More than a Game
11.00 a.m. -
12.00 p.m.
Moderator : Saad Shafqat
Tulip
Khalid Akhtar kay Sau Saal
Rafaqat Hayat, Haroon Khalid Akhtar and Syed Kashif Raza
12.15 p.m. -
12.45 p.m.
Moderator : Nasira Zuberi
Tulip
Afro-Aishiai aur Pakistani Adab
Zaheda Hina and Hoori Noorani
12.45 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Waheed Noor
Jasmine
Maps of Belonging
Muneeza Shamsie in conversation with Ahdaf Soueif
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Room 007
Book Launch: Beyond that Last Blue Mountain: My Silk Road Journey by Harriet Sandys
Harriet Sandys and Victoria Schofield
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Shaheen Salahuddin
Aquarius
Book Launch: Rang e Purshor by Ahmad Atta
Ahmad Atta
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Moderator : Nasir Abbas Nayyar
Main Garden
Readings by Khalid Ahmad from Mazeed Himaqatain by Shafiq ur Rahman
Introduction: Huma Mir
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Tulip
Book Discussion: Chikkar Cholay by Iftikhar Iffi
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Moderator : Ghazal Ansari
Jasmine
Book Launch: Saans Lenay mein Dard Hota hai by Hameed Shahid
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Moderator : Syed Kashif Raza
Room 007
Book Launch: Prodigal by Irshad Abdulkadir
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Moderator : Nadya AR
Main Garden
Maa Jai: Song of Love and Peace
Neelam Ahmad Basheer, Asma Abbas, and Bushra Ansari
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Faseeh Bari Khan
Jasmine
Financial Inclusion and Women Empowerment
Reza Baqir, Asad Umar, Ayesha Aziz, Ishrat Husain, and Muhammad Aurangzeb
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Rashid Masood Alam
Aquarius
Aik Sadi ka Qissa: Qateel Shifai, Zaheer Kashmiri, and Hasan Askari
Kishwar Naheed, Syed Jaffar Ahmed, and Hameed Shahid
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Nasir Abbas Nayyar
Tulip
Urdu Shairi: Aaj ka Manzarnama
Iftikhar Arif
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Hoori Noorani
Room 007
Book Launch: Siren Song: Understanding Pakistan through Its Women Singers by Fawzia Afzal-Khan
Screening of Short Film Fouzia Saeed, Fawzia Afzal-Khan, Maniza Naqvi, Framji Minwalla
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Shazia Hasan
Main Garden
Pakistani Cinema in the Twenty-First Century
Faseeh Bari Khan, Saqib Malik, Faysal Qureshi, Sheheryar Munawar Siddiqui, Bee Gul, Adnan Siddiqui, and Sangeeta Rizvi
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Ally Adnan
Jasmine
Kashmir: The Paradise Lost
Victoria Schofield, Athar Abbas, Mushaal Hussein Mullick, and Sardar Masood Khan
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Khalid Banuri
Aquarius
Aali Ji aur Urdu
Pirzada Qasim, Arfa Sayeda Zehra, and Syed Kashif Raza
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Ambareen Hasib Amber
Room 007
Where the Oxus Flows: A Story of Central Asia
A Presentation by Iftikhar Salahuddin. Introduction: Zehra Nigah
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Tulip
Book Launch: Khutoot-e-Ghalib by Tanzimul Firdous
Tanzim ul Firdous
3.30 p.m. -
4.00 p.m.
Moderator : Ahmad Atta
Tulip
Book Launch: Do Meenar: Reportage by Masud Mufti
4.00 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Yasir Qazi
Main Garden
Punching Up: Young Comedians Redefining Satire
Shehzad Ghias Shaikh, Ali Gul Pir, Natalia Gul, and Gul Zaib Shakeel
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Moderator : Hamna Zubair
Jasmine
Asad Mohammad Khan: The Living Legend Readings by Zia Mohyeddin
Asad Mohammad Khan
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Moderator : Harris Khalique
Aquarius
Media Crisis: Who is Responsible?
Azhar Abbas, Mubashir Zaidi, Owais Tohid, and Sabrina Toppa
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Moderator : Ayesha Tammy Haq
Room 007
A Room of One's Own:
Nusrat Khawaja in Conversation with Sadia Abbas
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Tulip
Art in Your Mohalla: A Dialogue for a Megapolis of Harmony for the Future
Aquila Ismail, Tariq Alexander Qaiser, Sohail Zuberi, and Romila Kareem
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Moderator : Niilofur Farrukh
Main Garden
Mapping Pakistan's Cultural Evolution over the Past 72 Years by Javed Jabbar
6.00 p.m. -
6.15 p.m.
Main Garden
Closing Ceremony:
Speech by the Festival Organizer: Arshad Saeed Husain, Managing Director, Oxford University Press Pakistan Chief Guest: Sardar Masood Khan, President Azad Jammu and Kashmir Guests of Honour: Asad Umar, and Mike Nithavrianakis Keynote Speeches by Ahdaf Soueif and Harris Khalique
6.20 p.m. -
7.20 p.m.
Main Garden
Performance by Raga Boyz
7.30 p.m. -
8.30 p.m.
Be First resgistration now
Get Ready With The Conference Ticket In Hand or Miss it!
Delegates Registration
The DELEGATE REGISTRATION fee is Rs 5,000 per day per person. If you register for all three days (28, 29 February and 1 March 2020), you can avail of a special rate of Rs 10,000 per person
Official Sponsors
