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.
Event of the Decade
Beach Luxury Hotel, Karachi.
10th Karachi Literature Festival 2019
#KhiLF
Speakers
10th KLF Programme
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Day 1
Mar 1, 2019
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Day 2
Mar 2, 2019
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Day 3
Mar 3, 2019
- Main Garden
- Jasmine
- Aquarius
- Room 007
- Princess
Main Garden
Arrival of Guests
5.00 p.m. -
5.30 p.m.
Main Garden
Welcome Speeches by:
Rachel Goode, Group Communications Director, Oxford University Press | Arshad Saeed Husain, Managing Director, Oxford University Press Pakistan
5.30 p.m. -
6.00 p.m.
Speech by the Chief Guest: Honourable Governor Sindh Imran Ismail | Award announcement - Urdu Literature
Main Garden
Keynote Speeches by Deborah Baker and I. A. Rehman
KLF Recollection
6.00 p.m. -
7.00 p.m.
Main Garden
Aao Humwatno Raqs Karo
Performance by Sheema Kermani
7.00 p.m. -
7.45 p.m.
Main Garden
Pakistani Cinema
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
7.45 p.m. -
8.45 p.m.
Fahad Mustafa, Mehwish Hayat, Yasir Hussain, Munawar Saeed, Nabeel Qureshi, Asif Raza Mir
Moderator : Ahmed Shah
Jasmine
Documentary Premier: Indus Blues
Pakistani folk artists talk about their struggle to keep a fading art form alive while reminding the world what they are about to lose.
7.45 p.m. -
8.45 p.m.
Jawad Sharif
Aquarius
Ahmad Faraz: Mohabbat aur Inqalab
7.45 p.m. -
8.45 p.m.
Sarmad Faraz, Hameed Akhund, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Kishwar Naheed
Moderator : Mujahid Barelvi
Room 007
Voices from Far and Near (English Poetry)
7.45 p.m. -
8.45 p.m.
Adrian Husain, Arfa Ezazi, Athar Tahir, Farida Faizullah, Harris Khalique, Ilona Yusuf, Jaffar Khan, Mehvash Amin, Moeen Faruqi, Shireen Haroun
Moderator : Salman Tarek Kureshi
Princess
Book Launch
The Begum: A Portrait of Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan
7.45 p.m. -
8.45 p.m.
Tahmina Aziz, Akbar Liaquat Ali Khan
Moderator : Muneeza Shamsie
Main Garden
A Cultural Journey of Pakistan
by Thespianz Theatre (String Puppet)
9.00 p.m. -
9.30 p.m.
- Main Garden
- Jasmine
- Aquarius
- Room 007
- Princess
Main Garden
Have Film songs popularised Urdu Poetry?
11.00 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Mahtab Alam, Asif Noorani, Haseena Moin, Arfa Sayeda Zehra
Jasmine
Book Launch
Defiance of the Rose: Selected Poems by Perveen Shakir Translated by Naima Rashid
11.00 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Iftikhar Arif, Yasmeen Hameed, Sabyn Javeri, Naima Rashid
Moderator : Shaheen Salahuddin
Aquarius
The Karachi Dilemma
Conservation or Evolution
11.00 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Marvi Mazhar, Rumana Husain, Maniza Naqvi, Syed Saif Ur Rehman
Room 007
The Past is Another Country
Life Writers as "Go-Betweens"
11.00 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Deborah Baker, Sanam Maher, Tahmina Aziz
Moderator : Harris Khalique
Princess
From Italy to Pakistan
Geography of the Soul
11.00 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Elena Nicolai and Aquila Ismail in conversation
Princess
Literature
Transitions and Transformations
Javed Jabbar
Moderator : Maria Hassan Siddiqui
Main Garden
Urdu Theatre
Kal, Aaj aur Kal
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Mahtab Alam, Asif Noorani, Haseena Moin, Arfa Sayeda Zehra
Jasmine
Growth and Inequality in Pakistan
Reimagining an Economy of Tomorrow
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Hafiz A. Pasha, Shamshad Akhtar, Vaqar Ahmed, Rolf Paasch
Moderator : Abdul Qadir
Aquarius
Kashmir
A Political and Cultural Discourse
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Sardar Masood Khan and Anam Zakaria
Moderator : Mujahid Barelvi
Room 007
Chiragh bujhtay chalay ja rahay hain
Khalida Hussain aur Altaf Fatima ki yaad mein…
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Kishwar Naheed, Yasmeen Hameed, Asghar Nadeem Syed
Moderator : Nasir Abbas Nayyar
Princess
Shaping Her World
An Indian Woman and the Writing Life
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Manju Kapur in conversation with Afia Aslam
Main Garden
Book Launch
Points of Entry: Encounters at the Origin-Sites of Pakistan by Nadeem Farooq Paracha
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Nadeem Farooq Paracha
Moderator : Ali Usman Qasmi
Jasmine
Book Launch
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto: The Psychodynamics of his Rise and Fall by Shamim Ahmad
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Shamim Ahmad
Moderator : Javed Jabbar
Aquarius
Book Launch
The ARZU Anthology Second Edition
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Nafisa Shah to launch the anthology Areeha Batool, Mariam Taufeeq, Shameneh Majid, Mushba Said, and Hafsa Saeed
Moderator : Sabyn Javeri
Room 007
Book Launch
Rich People, Poor Country: The Story of Fiscal and Foreign Exchange Policies of Pakistan by Syed Shabbar Zaidi
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Moderator : Farrukh Iqbal
Princess
Book Launch
Adh Adhooray Lok by Hafeez Khan
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Hafeez Khan
Moderator : Mazhar Arif
Main Garden
Judicial Activism vs Judicial Restraint Former Chief Justice
Saqib Nisar and Blair Glencorse in conversation with Ikram Sehgal and Huma Baqai
Saqib Nisar and Blair Glencorse
Jasmine
Journey into Europe
Islam, Immigration and Identity
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Amineh Hoti, Shafqat Ali Shah Jamote, and Sardar Masood Khan in conversation
Aquarius
Beyond the Novel
Future Directions in Pakistani Writing
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Taha Kehar, Sana Munir, Qazi Fasih, Faiqa Mansab
Moderator : David Waterman
Room 007
Publishing 2020 and Beyond
New Trends, Digitization and Technology
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Bilal Zahoor, Arshad Husain, Noman Said
Moderator : Hoori Noorani
Princess
Nayee Nasal Ki Awaaz
Kal Hamara Hai
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Neel Ahmad, Mahin Baloch, Atta ur Rahman, Abdul Rehman Momin
Moderator : Ghazal Ansari
Main Garden
Filbadi Fun with LOL Waalay
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Akbar Chaudhry, Syed Kumail, Zubair Tariq, Sannan Wastani, and Ali Gul Pir
Jasmine
Cultural activism to counter extremism in Sindh
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Noorul Huda Shah, Syed Sardar Ali Shah and Jami Chandio
Moderator : Izhar Soomro
Aquarius
Documentary: These Silences are all the Words
A Film by Madiha Aijaz
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Maheen Zia, Marvi Mazhar and Mohammed Ali Hakeem
Room 007
Book Launch
The Selected Works of Abdullah the Cossack by H.M. Naqvi
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Nazish Brohi
Princess
Taneesiat (Feminism)
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Kishwar Naheed
Moderator : Nasim Syed
Princess
Book Launch
Pakistaniat Kiya Hai? by Javed Jabbar
Moderator : Yasir Qazi
Main Garden
Book Launch
Rethinking Pakistan: A 21st Century Perspective Edited by Bilal Zahoor and Raza Rumi
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Bilal Zahoor, Erum Sattar, I. A. Rehman, and Nadeem Farooq Paracha
Moderator : Mubashir Zaidi
Jasmine
Ye Kaisa Ishq Hai Urdu Zubaan Ka
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Taimur Rehman
Aquarius
Documentary: City by the Sea
The Future of Karachi's Coastline by Mahera Omar followed by a discussion
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Mahera Omar, Javed Mahar, Amber Alibhai, Ahmer Ali Rizvi
Moderator : Mahera Omar
Room 007
Ghalib Naam Awaaram 150 Years of Mirza Ghalib
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Syed Nomanul Haq and Khalid Nadeem
Moderator : Aliya Iqbal-Naqvi
Princess
Rethinking Education in the Fast-Changing World
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Azra Naseem, Farrukh Iqbal, Shahzad Ahmed Memon, Baela Raza Jamil
Moderator : Anjum Halai
Main Garden
Documentary
Qalandar Code - Rise of the Divine Feminine
6.00 p.m. -
8.00 p.m.
Atiya Khan, David C. Heath, Syed Mehdi Raza Shah Subzwari
Moderator : Arieb Azhar
Jasmine
Mushaira
Presided by Zehra Nigah
6.00 p.m. -
8.00 p.m.
Ambareen Hasib Amber Anwar Shaoor, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Ashfaq Hussain, Fazil Jamili, Ghazal Ansari, Ghazanfar Hashmi, Harris Khalique, Iftikhar Arif, Kishwar Naheed, Nasim Syed, Nasira Zuberi, Peerzada Salman, Pirzada Qasim, Salman Sarwat, Waheed Noor, Yasmeen Hameed
Aquarius
How Public is Public Art?
6.00 p.m. -
7.00 p.m.
Muhammad Zeeshan, Fariha Amjad Ubaid, Hamna Zubair, Munawar Ali Syed
Moderator : Niilofur Farrukh
Room 007
Strong Women in Dangerous Times
6.00 p.m. - -
7.00 p.m.
Anita M. Weiss in conversation with Mona Eltahawy, Leila Aboulela, Elena Nicolai, and Nazish Brohi
Main Garden
Qawwali by Hamza Akram and Brothers
8.00 p.m. -
10.00 p.m.
- Main Garden
- Jasmine
- Aquarius
- Room 007
- Princess
Main Garden
Is today's Media informing society or dumbing it down?
11.00 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Ghazanfar Hashmi, Amna Khaishgi, Azhar Abbas, Fahd Husain, Ghazi Salahuddin
Moderator : Wusatullah Khan
Jasmine
Hum hee so gaye dastan kehtay kehtay…
Qurratulain Hyder ki yaad mein
11.00 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Nasir Abbas Nayyar, Arfa Sayeda Zehra, Azra Abbas, Ahmed Shah
Moderator : Waheed Noor
Aquarius
Love, War and the End of Empire
A Conversation with Deborah Baker
11.00 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Deborah Baker
Moderator : Ali Usman Qasmi
Room 007
Book Launch
Sindhi Adab: Aik Mukhtasar Tareekh by Attiya Dawood
11.00 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Attiya Dawood, Amar Sindhu, Shah Muhammad Pirzada, Yasmeen Hameed
Moderator : Arfana Mallah
Princess
Pakistani English Poetry
Shifting Perspectives
11.00 a.m. -
12.00 noon
Athar Tahir, Mehvash Amin, Peerzada Salman, Adrian Husain
Moderator : Ilona Yusuf
Main Garden
Book Launch
The Economy of Modern Sindh by Ishrat Husain, Aijaz A. Qureshi, Nadeem Hussain
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Murad Ali Shah, Ishrat Husain, Shamshad Akhtar, Hafiz A. Pasha
Moderator : Aijaz A. Qureshi
Jasmine
Satire in the Time of Tabdeeli
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Ali Aftab Saeed, Ali Gul Pir and Fasi Zaka
Moderator : Nadeem Farooq Paracha
Aquarius
Complicated Images
The Arab Woman of Today and Tomorrow
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
A Conversation with Mona Eltahawy
Moderator : Aliya Iqbal-Naqvi
Room 007
A Conversation with Deborah Baker
Zehra Nigah and Arfa Sayeda Zehra in conversation
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Zehra Nigah, Arfa Sayeda Zehra
Moderator : Ali Usman Qasmi
Princess
Past and Future Trajectory
Women's Writing in South Asia
12.15 p.m. -
1.15 p.m.
Sabyn Javeri, Manju Kapur, Ritu Menon, Faiqa Mansab
Moderator : Muneeza Shamsie
Main Garden
Book Launch
o Fortunes to Tell by Harris Khalique
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Mehvash Amin and Harris Khalique in conversation
Jasmine
Book Launch
Subah ka nashta, shaam ki chai by Imrana Maqsood
Imrana Maqsood
Moderator : Amra Alam and Hoori Noorani
Aquarius
Book Launch
Hijabistan by Sabyn Javeri
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Taha Kehar and Sabyn Javeri
Moderator : Ritu Menon
Room 007
Countering Violent Extremism in Pakistan
Local Actions, Local Voices by Anita M. Weiss
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Anita M. Weiss
Moderator : Salman T. Kureshi
Princess
Book Launch
Tun Ghar Chala Ja (Punjabi Kahaniyan) by Maqsood Saqib
1.30 p.m. -
2.00 p.m.
Maqsood Saqib
Moderator : Kashif Raza
Main Garden
TV Drama
Rise and Fall
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Kaif Ghaznavi, Saife Hasan, Azfar Rahman, Marina Khan, Atiqa Odho
Moderator : Khaled Anam
Jasmine
The Sorrows of Balochistan
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Kaiser Bengali and Jam Kamal Khan
Moderator : Huma Baqai and Ikram Sehgal
Aquarius
Book Launch: Pakistan's Radioactive Decade
An Informal Cultural History of the 1970s Edited by Niilofur Farrukh, Amin Gulgee, and John McCarry
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Amin Gulgee, Khusro Mumtaz, Aquila Ismail, Taimur Suri
Moderator : Niilofur Farrukh
Room 007
Celebrating Voices for Change
Mir Gul Khan Naseer (Balochi), Ghani Khan (Pashto), Shaikh Ayaz (Sindhi), Ustad Daman (Punjabi), Mumtaz Haider Dahar (Seraiki)
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Amar Sindhu, Maqsood Saqib, Ramazan Baloch, Mazhar Arif, Munir Badini
Moderator : Asghar Nadeem Syed
Princess
Book Launch
Always the Guest by Wendy Marijnissen
2.15 p.m. -
3.15 p.m.
Sheema Kermani, Shershah Syed, Wendy Marijnissen
Moderator : Zofeen T. Ebrahim
Main Garden
Kuch Bhi
A Talk by Anwar Maqsood
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Anwar Maqsood
Jasmine
Migration, Belonging and Faith
A Conversation with Leila Aboulela
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Leila Aboulela
Moderator : Nusrat Khawaja
Aquarius
Can Literature Survive the #Hashtag?
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Sanam Maher, Sajeer Shaikh, Jahanzaib Haque, Hamna Zubair, Sheheryar Popalzai
Room 007
The State and Corporations
Politics of Traditional Music in Pakistan
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Rafay Mahmood, Muhammad Athar Masood and Sharif Awan
Moderator : Malahat Awan
Princess
Book Launch
Invisible Ties by Nadya A. R.
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Nadya A. R.
Moderator : Shazia Hasan
Princess
Book Launch
Beyond the Fields by Aysha Baqir
3.30 p.m. -
4.30 p.m.
Moderator : Shazia Hasan
Main Garden
Noorul Huda Shah and Amar Jaleel in conversation
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Noorul Huda Shah & Amar Jaleel
Jasmine
Premier: Rani
A Short Film about a transgender Pakistani woman who sets out to take care of an abandoned child.
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Hammad Rizvi (Director), Akbar Allana (Producer), Kami Sid and Bilquis Edhi
Moderator : Zarrar Khuhro
Aquarius
The Master Performer Reads the Master Humorist Readings from the work of Mushtaq Ahmad Yusfi by Zia Mohyeddin
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Zia Mohyeddin
Room 007
Pakistan's Mental Health Time Bomb: Can it be defused?
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Murad Moosa Khan, Ayesha Mian, Rubeena Kidwai
Moderator : Zarrar Khuhro
Princess
Dastaan, Dastak aur Darwazay
Dramatic Readings by Atif Badar
4.45 p.m. -
5.45 p.m.
Atif Badar
Main Garden
Closing Ceremony
Speeches by Arshad Saeed Husain
Keynote Speeches by: Ishrat Husain, Manju Kapur and Zehra Nigah
Main Garden
Performance by Pepsi Battle of the Bands
7.05 p.m. -
- Onwards
COMING SOON
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 (1, 2, and 3 March 2019), you can avail of a special rate of Rs 10,000 per person
Official Sponsors
