9th Islamabad Literature Festival 2023

#IsbLF

About Islamabad Literature Festival

The Islamabad Literature Festival (ILF) was launched in April 2013 and has been a resounding success right from the start. Inspired by the Karachi Literature Festival (KLF), the Children’s Literature Festival (CLF) was launched at the end of 2011.

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Speakers

Anwar Masood is a Pakistani poet and educationist celebrated for his humorous poetry. While his repertoire encompasses various genres, he is proficient in writing in Punjabi, Urdu, and…
Anwar Masood

Anwar Masood

Hamid Mir is a journalist and author with a substantial body of work. Throughout his career, Mir has reported on conflicts in several regions, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria,…
Hamid Mir

Hamid Mir

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, titled ‘Written in…
Iftikhar Arif

Iftikhar Arif

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

Maleeha Lodhi has served as Pakistan’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, the first woman to represent Pakistan at the UN. She twice…
Maleeha Lodhi

Maleeha Lodhi

As part of the Karachi Police’s Counter Terrorism department, Omar Shahid Hamid has survived being ambushed by gangsters, implicated by colleagues in a false case, and, as CID chief,…
Omar Shahid Hamid

Omar Shahid Hamid

Sherry Rehman is Chair of the Climate and Environment Caucus of the Senate of Pakistan, former Federal Minister of Climate Change, first woman Opposition Leader in the Senate…
Senator Sherry Rehman

Senator Sherry Rehman

Victoria Schofield is a distinguished historian and expert in international affairs. With a remarkable body of work that includes books on the complexities of Jammu and Kashmir, her…
Victoria Schofield

Victoria Schofield

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9th ILF Programme

  • Day 1

    Nov 3, 2023

  • Day 2

    Nov 4, 2023

  • Day 3

    Nov 5, 2023

  • Intizar Husain Auditorium
  • Perveen Shakir Hall
  • Amjad Islam Amjad Hall
* *

Gandhara Citizen Club, Gate No. 5, Fatima Jinnah (F-9) Park, Islamabad

Arrival of Guests

4.00 p.m. - -
* *

Welcome Speech by Festival Organizer

4.30 p.m. - -
Arshad Saeed Husain

Managing Director, OUP Pakistan

* *

Speech by Sponsor:

4:50 p.m. - -
Khalid Mahmood

Managing Director, Getz Pharma Pvt. Ltd.

* *

Keynote Speeches by:

Iftikhar Arif
5.20 p.m. - -

Dramatist, short story writer, and poet

* *

Victoria Schofield

Historian and commentator on international affairs
5.30 p.m. - -
* *

Lao Tou Qatal Nama Mera — A Tribute to Faiz Ahmad Faiz

5.50 p.m. - -

Performance by Zahshanné Malik

* *

Intizar Husain Auditorium

اقبال : ایک عہد سازشاعر

Fateh Muhammad Malik, Najeeba Arif, Nasir Abbas Nayyar
6.15 p.m. - 7.15 p.m.
Moderator : Nasira Zuberi

Recitation by Ahmad Atta

* *

Perveen Shakir Hall

Pakistan's Mangroves: A Forest in Peril

Tariq Alexander Qaiser in conversation with Umber Khairi
6.15 p.m. - 7.15 p.m.
* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

Jinnah’s Vision: Safeguarding Religious Freedom

Yaqoob Bangash, Farzana Bari, Pritam Das Rathi, Maham Ali
6.15 p.m. - 7.15 p.m.
Moderator : Syed Irfan Ashraf
  • Intizar Husain Auditorium
  • Perveen Shakir Hall
  • Amjad Islam Amjad Hall
* *

Intizar Husain Auditorium

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

Verses in Play: Celebrating Tradition through Urdu Poetry
11.00 a.m. - 12.00 noon
Moderator : Ghazal Ansari

Jury: Mehboob Zafar and Nasira Zuberi

* *

Perveen Shakir Hall

Pakistan’s Wars: An Alternate History

Tariq Rahman and Moeed Yusuf
11.00 a.m. - 12.00 noon
Moderator : Yaqoob Bangash

By Tariq Rahman

* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

Other Days by Arshad Waheed

Arshad Waheed in conversation with Waqas Masood
11.00 a.m. - 11.30 a.m.
* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

Destined to Fail: Democracy and State Building

Experiment in Post-Taliban Afghanistan
11.30 a.m. - 12.00 noon
Moderator : Salma Malik

By Saira Aquil

Zahid Hussain and Saira Aquil

* *

Intizar Husain Auditorium

The Dark Side of Journalism The Culture and Political Economy of Global Media in Pakistan and Afghanistan

Afrasiab Khattak, Hamid Mir, Saba Gul Khattak, and Syed Irfan Ashraf
12.15 p.m. - 1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Fasi Zaka

By Syed Irfan Ashraf

* *

Perveen Shakir Hall

محمل و جرس: جرس فریاد می دارد کہ بر بندید محمل ہا

از جوش ملیح آ با دی
12.15 p.m. - 1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Mehboob Zafar

Iftikhar Arif, Najeeba Arif, . Tabassum Malihabadi, Farrukh Jamal, Abbas Tabish, and Hoori Noorani

* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

Pakistani Prose and Verse: Exploring Contemporary English Literature

Muneeza Shamsie, Taha Kehar, Aroosa Kanwal, and Omar Shahid Hamid
12.15 p.m. - 1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Aisha Sarwari
* *

Intizar Husain Auditorium

قیدی از عمرشاہد

نگریزی سے ترجمہ :انعام ندیم
1.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.

Omar Shahid Hamid and Inaam Nadeem in conversation

* *

Perveen Shakir Hall

Ink and Empowerment: Women in Publishing

Sadia Akhtar and Muneeza Shamsie
1.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.
Moderator : Mina Malik
* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

Grieving for Pigeons: Twelve Stories of Lahore

1.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.

By Zubair Ahmad

Zubair Ahmad in conversation with Sarwat Mohiuddin

* *

Intizar Husain Auditorium

Democracy, Bureaucracy and Judiciary: Going Beyond the Colonial Entanglement

Hamid Khan, Raza Rabbani, Fauzia M. Sana, Zahid Hussain
2.15 p.m. - 3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Khayyam Mushir
* *

Perveen Shakir Hall

Al in Education: Empowering Minds, Shaping the Future of Learning

Shahid Mahmud, Wayne Press, Jibran Jamshad, Faisal Bari
2.15 p.m. - 3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Saquib Ahmad
* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

Lahore’s Lost Legacy: Unveiling the Life and Contributions of Sir Ganga Ram

Tahmina Aziz Ayub in conversation with Yaqoob Bangash
2.15 p.m. - 2.45 p.m.
* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

The Other In The Mirror: Stories from India and Pakistan

Edited by Sehyr Mirza
2.45 p.m. - 3.15 p.m.

Sehyr Mirza in conversation with Sharif Awan

* *

Intizar Husain Auditorium

Development Pathways: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh at 75

by Ishrat Husain Sohail Mahmood, Ikram Sehgal, Aisha Ghaus Pasha, and Khalid Banuri
3.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Vaqar Ahmed
* *

Perveen Shakir Hall

اردو فکشن کا ارتقا

Hafeez Khan, Hameed Shahid, Bl 6 syst Asim Butt, and Asghar Nadeem Syed
3.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Humera Ishfaq
* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

Fair Assessments: Ensuring Equity and Excellence in Education

Saima Anwer, Andrew Coombe, Ghulam Ali Mallah, and Tariq Banuri
3.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Chaudhary Faisal Mushtaq
* *

Intizar Husain Auditorium

ہنس کر جیو

Beo Zafar in conversation with Khaled Anam
4.45 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.
* *

Perveen Shakir Hall

Investing in Human Capital: Tackling Underdevelopment in Pakistan

Asad Sayeed, S. Akbar Zaidi, and Samia Liaquat Ali Khan
4.45 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.
Moderator : Khalid Mahmood
* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

Literature and Journalism: A Disconnect

Aamir Ghauri, Asma Shirazi, Harris Khalique, and Ammar Aziz
4.45 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.
Moderator : Farnood Alam
* *

Intizar Husain Auditorium

Feature Film Screening کملی

An introduction by Sarmad Khoosat
6.00 p.m. - -
* *

Perveen Shakir Hall

مشاعرہ

Sadarat: Iftikhar Arif - Nizamat: Mehboob Zafar
6.00 p.m. - -

Ahmad Atta, Shakeel Jazib, Akhtar Raza Saleemi, Ghazal Ansari, Farrukh Yar, Anmad Ataullah, Nasira Zuberi, Akhtar Usman, Harris Khalique, Tariq Naeem, Abbas Tabish, Yasmeen Hameed, Muhammad Izharul Haq, Jalil Aali, Ehsan Akbar, Kishwar Naheed

* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

Dandelion Blooms: The Evolution of Islamabad

Saud Mukhtar in conversation with Khayyam Mushir
6.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m.
Moderator : Khayyam Mushir

By Saud Mukhtar

* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

Legacy of Oneness

A Presentation by Amardeep Singh
6.30 p.m. - 7.30 p.m.
Moderator : Tahmina Aziz Ayub
  • Intizar Husain Auditorium
  • Perveen Shakir Hall
  • Amjad Islam Amjad Hall
* *

Intizar Husain Auditorium

آگ کا دریا : بر صغیر کی کہانی قرۃ العین کی زبانی

A Presentation on Aag Ka Darya by Amir Jafri and Agha Sajjad Hussain
11.00 a.m. - 12.00 noon
Moderator : Arif Azad
* *

Perveen Shakir Hall

Resilient Pakistan: Sociocultural Impact

by Haya Fatima Sehgal Mushahid Hussain Syed and Haya Fatima Sehgal
11.00 a.m. - 11.30 a.m.
Moderator : Raheela Baqai
* *

Perveen Shakir Hall

Securing Pakistan's Interest: Navigating Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

Huma Bagai and Ikram Sehgal in conversation
11.30 a.m. - 12.00 noon
* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

راول راج : راولپنڈی اسلام آباد تاریخ تہزیباسا طیر از سجاد اظہر

Sajjad Azhar in conversation with Farrukh Yar
11.00 a.m. - 11.30 a.m.
* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

جہاں آباد کی گلیاں از اصغر ندیم سید

Asghar Nadeem Syed in conversaton with Nasir Abbas Nayyar
11.30 a.m. - 12.00 noon
* *

Intizar Husain Auditorium

Capital Talk: In conversation with Hamid Mir

12.15 p.m. - 1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Tauseeq Haider
* *

Perveen Shakir Hall

Harmony across Borders: The Quest for Peace and Security among Neighbours

Ikram Sehgal, Zahid Hussain, and Victoria Schofield
12.15 p.m. - 1.15 p.m.
Moderator : Khalid Banuri
* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

The Idle Stance of the Tippler Pigeon

Safinah Danish Elahi in conversation with Taha Kehar
12.15 p.m. - 12.45 p.m.

By Safinah Danish Elahi

* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

١٩٨٠ کی دہائی کا آ شوب

Asghar Nadeem Syed and Kishwar Naheed in conversation
12.45 p.m. - 1.15 p.m.
* *

Intizar Husain Auditorium

Conversations With My Father: Forty Years on a Daughter Responds

Moneeza Hashmi in conversation with Aisha Sarwari
1.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.

By Moneeza Hashmi

* *

Perveen Shakir Hall

سیاہ ہیرے از ثمینہ نزیر

Sameena Nazir i in conversation gkko with Sanober Nazir
1.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.
* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

دختر رومی از انعام ندیم

Inaam Nadeem in conversation a with Shahzad Sharjeel
1.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.
* *

Intizar Husain Auditorium

آؤ ڈرامہ کریں

Saadat Hasan Manto’s Aao Drama Karain
2.15 p.m. - 3.15 p.m.

A Play written by Manto and presented by Swaang Theatre Group

* *

Perveen Shakir Hall

Curriculum, Textbook, High Stakes Assessments: Way Forward

Chaudhary Faisal Mushtaq, Arshad Saeed Husain, Mariam Chughtai, and Mian Imran Masood
2.15 p.m. - 3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Faisal Bari
* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

ہماری مٹتی ہوئی زبانیں

Zubair Torwali, Zubair Ahmad, Tariq Rahman, Zaman Sagar
2.15 p.m. - 3.15 p.m.
Moderator : Samar Minallah Khan
* *

Intizar Husain Auditorium

Pakistan's Foreign Policy and Economic Challenges

Maleeha Lodhi and Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry
3.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Salma Malik
* *

Perveen Shakir Hall

عشق نامہ شاہ حسین : تصوف، ملامت، سنگیت، کلام از فرخ یار

Sharif Awan, Farrukh Yar, Kishwar Naheed, Arshad Mahmood Nashaad
3.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Sultan Nasir
* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

A Columnist’s Voice: A Conversation about a Life Lived with Passion — Irfan Husain

Victoria Schofield, Agha Imran Hamid, and Khawar Mumtaz
3.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Umber Khairi

Video messages: Abbas Nasir and Carmen Gonzalez

* *

Intizar Husain Auditorium

Human Rights: Is there a meaning left?

Harris Khalique, Farzana Bari, Athar Abbas, and Adil Shahzeb
4.45 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.
Moderator : Asma Shirazi
* *

Perveen Shakir Hall

ترجمہ نگاری کی اہمیت

Musharraf Ali Farooqi, Inaam Nadeem, Yasmeen Hameed, and Sarwat Mohiuddin
4.45 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.
Moderator : Bibi Ameena
* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

Music in COVID Times: Album Launch

Sharif Awan and Fak Muhammad Athar Masood
4.45 p.m. - 5.15 p.m.
Moderator : Ammar Aziz
* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

اے آسمان نیچے اتر از اظہار الحق

Arshad Mahmood Nashaad i and Muhammad Izhar ul Haq
5.15 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.
Moderator : Harris Khalique
* *

Intizar Husain Auditorium

Film: The Power of Storytelling

Sarmad Khoosat, Samar Minallah Khan, Amardeep Singh, Usman Mukhtar
6.00 p.m. - 7.00 p.m.
Moderator : Khaled Anam
* *

Perveen Shakir Hall

Business and Economy: Shaping the Way Forward

Aisha Ghaus Pasha, Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, Nadeem ul Haque, and Nadeem Hussain
6.00 p.m. - 7.00 p.m.
Moderator : Vaqar Ahmed
* *

Amjad Islam Amjad Hall

Voices from the Foothills: Pakistani English Verse

Chair: Raja Changez Sultan Risham Amjad, Waqas Naeem, Mavra Bari
6.00 p.m. - 7.00 p.m.
Moderator : Ammar Aziz
* *

Intizar Husain Auditorium

Closing Ceremony

Keynote Speeches by: Anwar Masood and Senator Sherry Rehman
7.15 p.m. - -

Vote of Thanks by: Mohammad Mikail Somro, Manager Corporate Communications, Getz Pharma Pvt. Ltd Abeera Dilawar, PR Director, Capital Development Authority (CDA) Arshad Saeed Husain, Managing Director, Oxford University Press Pakistan

* *

Ghazal Night

by Ustad Hamid Ali Khan
8.15 p.m. - -

Art Exhibition: The Day After
Organised by Beaconhouse National University (BNU)
Supported by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES)
Curator: Quddus Mirza
Co-curator: Ammar Faiz

Art Exhibition: The Lost Lullaby of Mother Earth
Exclusive Art Exhibition by Fauzia Minallah

Download ILF 2023 Programme

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