About Karachi Literature Festival

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.

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15th KLF Speakers

Iftikhar Arif is a prominent Urdu poet, scholar, and literary personality. Several collections of Iftikhar Arif’s poetry have been published, including the rendition of his poetry into English,…
Iftikhar Arif

Iftikhar Arif

Joseph Massad is Professor of Modern Arab Politics and Intellectual History at Columbia University. He is the author of several books, dozens of scholarly articles, and hundreds of…
Joseph Massad

Joseph Massad

Kishwar Naheed is one of Pakistan’s most renowned feminist poets. Her first collection of poems, ‘Lab-i-Goya’ (1968), earned her the prestigious Adamjee Prize for Literature. She is the…
Kishwar Naheed

Kishwar Naheed

Michael Cirelli, Founder of the National Youth Poet Laureate Program, a leading literary arts program for young writers in America, has led Urban Word for over two decades.…
Michael Cirelli

Michael Cirelli

Prof. Dr Najeeba Arif is an eminent scholar, creative writer, critic and researcher. Her major field of specialization is Archival Research. She has discovered, edited and published about…
Najeeba Arif

Najeeba Arif

Noorul Huda Shah is a well-known and respected short story writer, playwright, poet, columnist, and broadcaster. Presently, she is Joint Secretary of the Pakistan Arts Council Karachi. She…
Noorul Huda Shah

Noorul Huda Shah

Selma is a British Palestinian writer of fiction. Born in Scotland, she has lived in England, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, France, Egypt, and the West Bank. Her novel,…
Selma Dabbagh

Selma Dabbagh

Zehra Nigah is one of the foremost Urdu poets of Pakistan. She was one of two female poets to gain prominence in the 1950s. She was born on…
Zehra Nigah

Zehra Nigah

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15th KLF Programme

  • Day 1

    Feb 16, 2024

  • Day 2

    Feb 17, 2024

  • Day 3

    Feb 18, 2024

  • Main Garden
  • Jasmine
  • Aquarius
  • Room 007
* *

Main Garden

Arrival of Guests

4.00 p.m. - 4.30 p.m.
* *

Main Garden

Welcome Speech by the Festival Organizer: Arshad Saeed Husain, Managing Director, OUP Pakistan

4.30 p.m. - 6.30 p.m.

Remarks by the Guest of Honour Remarks by Sponsors: Ali Habib, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, HBL and Khalid Mahmood, Managing Director & CEO, Getz Pharma Pvt. Ltd. Keynote Speeches: Arif Hasan and Selma Dabbagh Book Awards: KLF-Getz Pharma English Fiction Prize Award KLF-Getz Pharma Urdu Poetry Award KLF-Getz Pharma Urdu Prose Award KLF-The Little Book Company Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Books in: Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, and Balochi Languages Performance by Nighat Choudhry on Faiz Ahmad Ahmad's Hum Dekhain Gay aur Bahaar Ayee

* *

Main Garden

فیض کی محبت میں

Moneeza Hashmi, Wajid Jawad, Adeel Hashmi
7.00 p.m. - 8.00 p.m.
Moderator : Bari Mian
* *

Jasmine

How Agriculture can save Pakistan?

Muhammad Aurangzeb, Salim Raza, Miftah Ismail, Ishrat Husain,
7.00 p.m. - 8.00 p.m.
Moderator : Ali Habib
* *

Aquarius

Film Screening with Q&A: Gandhi and Jinnah Return Home

Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Manjula Kumar, Farrukh Iqbal
7.00 p.m. - 9.30 p.m.
Moderator : Haya Fatima Sehgal
* *

Room 007

Book Launch: Timeless College Tales by Nadya Chishty Mujahid

Nadya Chishty Mujahid in conversation with Nusrat Khawaja
7.00 p.m. - 7.30 p.m.
* *

Room 007

Book Launch: Foundations and Form: Memoirs of a Pakistani Architect by Mukhtar Husain

Mukhtar Husain in conversation with Aliya Iqbal-Naqvi
7.30 p.m. - 8.00 p.m.
  • Main Garden
  • Jasmine
  • Aquarius
  • Room 007
  • Tulip
* *

Main Garden

Unraveling South Asia

Ikram Sehgal and Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry in conversation
11.00 a.m. - 12.00 noon
* *

Jasmine

میری دھرتی، میرے لوگ: احمد سلیم اور بابر ایاز کی یاد میں

Naazir Mahmood, Syed Jaffar Ahmed, Nausheen Ahmed, Syed Jawaid Iqbal
11.00 a.m. - 12.00 noon
Moderator : Mazhar Abbas
* *

Aquarius

نثری نظم کا ارتقاء

Afzal Ahmad Syed, Tanveer Anjum, Azra Abbas, Anwer Sen Roy
11.00 a.m. - 12.00 noon
Moderator : Syed Kashif Raza
* *

Room 007

پشتو ادب کا حالیہ منظر نامہ

Qaisar Khan Afridi, Makham Khattak, Zehra Shah
11.00 a.m. - 12.00 noon
Moderator : Tahir Khan Mandokhail
* *

Main Garden

Urdu Shairi Kay Darakshan Sitaray

Zehra Nigah, and Kishwar Naheed in conversation
12.15 p.m. - 1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Hoori Noorani
* *

Jasmine

Book Launch: Development Pathways: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh (1947-2022) by Ishrat Husain

Ishrat Husain, Miftah Ismail, Saleem Mandviwalla
12.15 p.m. - 1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Asma Hyder
* *

Aquarius

Sustainability in an Evolving New World Order

Selma Dabbagh, Hasnain Kazim, Nauman Naqvi
12.15 p.m. - 1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Ali Usman Qasmi
* *

Room 007

Book Launch: جہاں آباد کی گلیاں

Asghar Nadeem Syed in conversation with Nasir Abbas Nayyar
12.15 p.m. - 12.45 p.m.
* *

Room 007

Book Launch: Rolaak by Rafaqat Hayat

Rafaqat Hayat in conversation with Syed Kashif Raza
12.45 p.m. - 1.15 p.m.
* *

Tulip

کچھ شعر فقط ان کو سنانے کے لیے ہیں! بیت بازی

Verses in Play: Celebrating Tradition through Urdu Poetry Jury: Nasira Zuberi, Waheed Noor, Ahmad Atta
12.15 p.m. - 1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Ambareen Haseeb Ambar
* *

Main Garden

Book Discussion: قیدی by Omar Shahid Hamid

Omar Shahid Hamid and Inaam Nadeem
1.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.
Moderator : Ghazi Salahuddin
* *

Jasmine

Book Launch: Suffocation translated by Asma Mansoor

Hasan Manzar and Najeeba Arif
1.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.
Moderator : Bibi Ameena
* *

Aquarius

خوشبو کی دیوار کے پیچھے by Hameed Shahid

Hameed Shahid in conversation with Mubeen Mirza
1.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.
* *

Tulip

کلامِ شاعر بہ زبانِ شاعر

Nusrat Ali
1.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.
* *

Main Garden

The Evolving Federation: Two Steps Forward One Step Back

Kaiser Bengali, Faisal Siddiqui, Shabbar Zaidi, Asad Umar
2.15 p.m. - 3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Amber Rahim Shamsi
* *

Jasmine

افتخار عارف : یادیں اور باتیں

Iftikhar Arif, Salman Peerzada, Nasir Abbas Nayyar
2.15 p.m. - 3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Mubeen Mirza
* *

Aquarius

Vlogvolution: Content beyond Likes

Bilal Hassan, Osamah Nasir, Amtul Baweja, Kazi Akber
2.15 p.m. - 3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Anoushey Ashraf
* *

Room 007

Book Launches: A Life Lived with Passion: Irfan Husain (1944-2020) Edited by Carmen Gonzalez and Abbas Nasir A Lifetime of Dissent: A Memoir by I. A. Rehman

Zohra Yusuf, Ghazi Salahuddin, and Jaffar Ahmed in conversation
2.15 p.m. - 3.15 p.m.
* *

Tulip

Passion or Profession

An Interactive session with Youth on Performing Arts with Junaid Zuberi
2.15 p.m. - 3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Shoaib Arshad
* *

Main Garden

نور جہاں سُرور جہاں

Nazia Ejaz Khan, Salima Hashmi, Arshad Mahmud
3.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Ahmed Ali Butt
* *

Jasmine

Book Launch: Imran Khan: Myth of the Pakistani Middle-Class by Nadeem Farooq Paracha

Amber Rahim Shamsi, Hasan Zaidi, Nadeem Farooq Paracha
3.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Shehzad Ghias Shaikh
* *

Aquarius

The Last White Man

Mohsin Hamid in conversation with Claire Chambers
3.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m.
* *

Room 007

Woven Words: Under the Tamarind Tree A Novel by Nigar Alam The Idle Stance of the Tippler Pigeon by Safinah Danish Elahi No Funeral for Nazia by Taha Kehar

Nigar Alam, Safinah Danish Elahi and Taha Kehar in conversation
3.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m.
* *

Tulip

Theatrical Session by Atif Badar

Dramatic Readings بیگم کی بلی by Imtiaz Ali Taj - ہلکی پھلکی داستان گوئی کا ایک مختصر خاکہ
3.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m.
* *

Main Garden

الیکشن سے ذرا ہٹ کے

Zarrar Khuhro, Wusatullah Khan, Shahzeb Jillani
4.45 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.
Moderator : Nadia Naqi
* *

Jasmine

Getz Pharma EACPE Film Awards

Looking through the lens with Shehzad Roy
4.45 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.
Moderator : Khalid Mahmood
* *

Aquarius

Arab Identity in Contemporary Times

Joseph Massad in conversation with S. Akbar Zaidi
4.45 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.
* *

Room 007

Building Future Skills: The Co-Existence of Local and International Examination Boards

4.45 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.
Andrew Coombe, Fouzia Khan, Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Arshad Saeed Husain
Moderator : Faisal Bari
* *

Main Garden

Reforming Pakistan: A New Social Contract

Miftah Ismail, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar
6.00 p.m. - 7.00 p.m.
Moderator : Shaheen Salahuddin
* *

Jasmine

To Print or not to Print: Blended Digital Face of Learning

6.00 p.m. - 7.00 p.m.
Jibran Jamshad, Jehan Ara, Wayne Press, Arshad Saeed Husain, Kashif Khan
Moderator : Faisal Bari
* *

Aquarius

National Youth Poet Laureate Programme

Poetry recitation with young poets from Karachi Michael Cirelli
6.00 p.m. - 7.00 p.m.
* *

Room 007

کچھ عمدہ کہانی کاروں کی یاد : Shaukat Siddiqui, Zamiruddin Ahmed, Ibn Saeed, Jamila Hashmi

Hameed Shahid, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Tanzim ul Firdous
6.00 p.m. - 7.00 p.m.
Moderator : Inaam Nadeem
* *

Main Garden

Feature Film Screening: Moor (Mother)

7.15 p.m. - 8.15 p.m.
* *

Jasmine

مشاعرہ

Sadarat: Iftikhar Arif - Nizamat: Nasira Zuberi
7.15 p.m. - 8.15 p.m.

Kishwar Naheed, Ashfaq Hussain, Afzal Ahmed Syed, Tanweer Anjum, Aqeel Abbas Jaffri, Harris Khalique, Fazil Jamili, Ambareen Haseeb Ambar, Salman Sarwat, Waheed Noor, Imran Saqib

* *

Aquarius

Historical Fiction: Capturing the Atmosphere

Kenize Mourad in conversation with Bina Shah
7.15 p.m. - 8.15 p.m.
* *

Room 007

Reimagining the Ustad-Shagird Tradition in Today's Music and Culture

Sharif Awan and Rafay Mahmood
7.15 p.m. - 8.15 p.m.
Moderator : Adnan Rizvi
  • Main Garden
  • Jasmine
  • Aquarius
  • Room 007
  • Tulip
* *

Main Garden

In Pursuit of an Ethical State

Syed Kaleem Imam, Shahab Usto, Mazhar Abbas, Huma Baqai,
11.00 a.m. - 12.00 noon
Moderator : Suhai Aziz Talpur
* *

Jasmine

Coming of Age: Pakistani English Language Literature

Muneeza Shamsie, Salman Tarek Kureshi, Maniza Naqvi, Taha Kehar
11.00 a.m. - 12.00 noon
Moderator : Claire Chambers
* *

Aquarius

Book Launch: A History of the Baloch and Balochistan by Mir Naseer Khan Ahmedzai Kambarani Baloch

Martin Axmann, Naazir Mahmood, Anwar Sajidi
11.00 a.m. - 12.00 noon
Moderator : Shaheen Salahuddin
* *

Room 007

پاکستان، تعلیم اور اکیسویں صدی

Shahid Siddiqui, Farid Panjwani, Anjum Halai, Baela Raza Jamil
11.00 a.m. - 12.00 noon
Moderator : Khadija Bakhtiar
* *

Main Garden

Urban Dialogues: Decoding Karachi's Dynamics

Chaired by Arif Hasan Murtaza Wahab, Tariq Alexander Qaiser, Afia Salam
12.15 p.m. - 1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Masood Lohar
* *

Jasmine

اُردو ناول پردۂ زمین پر

Asghar Nadeem Syed, Nasir Abbas Nayyar, Hina Khawaja Bayat, Bee Gul
12.15 p.m. - 1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Khaled Anam
* *

Aquarius

Jerusalem: A Journey Back in Time: A Presentation by Iftikhar Salahuddin

Introduction by Zehra Nigah
12.15 p.m. - 1.15 p.m.
* *

Room 007

Beyond the Seas: Readings by Michael Cirelli, Aysha Baqir

12.15 p.m. - 1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Maniza Naqvi
* *

Main Garden

Book Launch: Awaaz: Echoes of Freedom & Justice

Ansar Burney, Shehar Bano Rizvi and Tasneem Premjee Chamdia in conversation with Muslim Rizvi
1.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.
* *

Jasmine

Book Launch: The Monsoon War: A Novel by Bina Shah

Bina Shah in conversation with Christie Marie Lauder
1.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.
* *

Jasmine

Book Launch: مکھوٹا by Najeeba Arif

Najeeba Arif and Inaam Nadeem
1.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.
Moderator : Bibi Ameena
* *

Aquarius

Book Launch: The Whispering Chinar by Ali Rohila

Ali Rohila in conversation with Shazia Hasan
1.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.
* *

Room 007

Book Launch: Earth and Glimmer by Haya Fatima Sehgal

Haya Fatima Sehgal in conversation with Peerzada Salman
1.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.
* *

Tulip

Unveiling the Minds: The Science of Mental Resilience

Imran Yousuf Jofa in conversaton with Shaha Tariq
1.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.
* *

Main Garden

ہنسنا منع ہے

Desi Stand-Up Comedy Sanjay Rajoura, Mustafa Chaudary, Murtaza Chaudary, Faysal Chaudary
2.15 p.m. - 3.15 p.m.
* *

Jasmine

تصوف اور ہماری شعری روایت : Mansoor Hallaj Kay Sayay

Iftikhar Arif, Nomanul Haq, Najeeba Arif, Harris Khalique
2.15 p.m. - 3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Aliya Iqbal-Naqvi
* *

Aquarius

Book Launch: Qaum, Mulk, Sultanat: Citizenship and National Belonging in Pakistan by Ali Usman Qasmi

Martin Axmann, Ali Usman Qasmi, Huma Ghaffar
2.15 p.m. - 3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Nadeem Farooq Paracha
* *

Room 007

Book Launch: Underground

Ashraf Shad and Amir Zia
2.15 p.m. - 2.45 p.m.
Moderator : Mujahid Barelvi
* *

Room 007

Book Launch: The Monsoon War: A Novel by Bina Shah

Bina Shah in conversation with Christie Marie Laude
2.45 p.m. - 3.15 p.m.
* *

Tulip

Climate Change and Sustainability; A Discussion on Actions with Youth and Teachers

2.15 p.m. - 3.15 p.m.
Fozia Parveen, Rumana Husain, Baela Raza Jamil, Sehrish Farooq
Moderator : Afia Salam
* *

Main Garden

Film: The Power of Storytelling

Sanam Saeed, Mohib Mirza, Faryal Mehmood, Abid Aziz Merchant, Bee Gul
3.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Saba Karim Khan
* *

Jasmine

Book Launch: Pakistan: Search for Stability Edited by Maleeha Lodhi

Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry and Maleeha Lodhi
3.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Huma Baqai
* *

Aquarius

الیکشن ۲۰۲۴ء: ایک نیا زاویہ

Makhdoom Ali Khan, Shaiq Usmani, Shaheen Salahuddin
3.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Mujahid Barelvi
* *

Tulip

Interactive Theatre and Dramatic Poetry

Readings by Atif Badar
3.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m.
* *

Room 007

Goal of Higher Education: Creating Professionals or Scholars?

Stephen Lyon, Faisal Mushtaq, Noman Ahmed, Khalilullah Shaikh
3.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Khadija Bakhtiar
* *

Main Garden

Human Rights and Wrongs

Hasnain Kazim, Jibran Nasir, Asma Shirazi, Harris Khalique
4.45 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.
Moderator : Ghazi Salahuddin
* *

Jasmine

The Big Picture: Future of Pakistan

Maheen Rahman, Muhammad Ali, Syed Sirajuddin Aziz, Wasif Rizvi
4.45 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.
Moderator : Muhammad Azfar Ahsan
* *

Aquarius

Translations of Sindhi Classics: From Shah Abdul Bhitai to Shaikh Ayaz

Noorul Huda Shah, Attiya Dawood, Mumtaz Bukhari
4.45 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.
Moderator : Amar Pirzado
* *

Room 007

Ceasefire Forever

Selma Dabbagh in conversation with Saba Karim Khan
4.45 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.
* *

Main Garden

Framing Reality as Comedy

Shehzad Ghias Shaikh, Mustafa Chaudhary, Murtaza Chaudhary, Amber Rahim Shamsi
6.00 p.m. - 7.00 p.m.
Moderator : Nadeem Farooq Paracha
* *

Jasmine

Songs of the Sufi: The Untold Story of Classical Qawwali (Screening of Film followed by Q&A)

Kamran Moin Anwar and Qawwal Najmuddin
6.00 p.m. - 7.00 p.m.
Moderator : Mahnaz Naveed Shah
* *

Aquarius

Ladies Tailor

A Play by Sameena Nazir
6.00 p.m. - 7.00 p.m.
* *

Tulip

By the Swaying Palms and the Mangrove Creek: Poetry in English

6.00 p.m. - 7.00 p.m.
Sophia Bano, Minaa Shahzad, Zarmina Raza, Frida Faizullah, Moeen Faruqi, Moosa Gardezi
Moderator : Salman Tarek Kureshi
* *

Room 007

Book Launch: A World of Her Own: Ada Jafarey by Aamir Jafarey with Asra Jafarey

Zehra Nigah and Aamir Jafarey
6.00 p.m. - 7.00 p.m.
Moderator : Nida Wahid
* *

Room 007

Book Launch: Among My Own: The Untold Stories Of My People by Dr Naseem Salahuddin

Naseem Salahuddin in conversation with Shahnaz Wazir Ali
6.00 p.m. - 7.00 p.m.
* *

Closing Ceremony

Keynote Speeches by: Najeeba Arif and Joseph Massad
7.15 p.m. - 8.00 p.m.

Honoring the Literary Legends: Zehra Nigah, Iftikhar Arif, Kishwar Naheed, Muneeza Shamsie - Vote of Thanks by: Maya Inayat Ismail, Chief of Staff to the Chairman and Chairperson, Sustainability Forum-HBL Arshad Saeed Husain, Managing Director, Oxford University Press Pakistan Sufi Qawwali by Qawal Najmuddin Saifuddin & Brothers

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