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A galaxy of literary and showbiz luminaries, along with prominent political figures and civil society leaders, participated in various sessions on literature, art, culture and societal issues at the two-day ‘Pakistan Literature Festival 2025 Sukkur Chapter II’ which got underway at the Sukkur IBA University on Tuesday.

Organised by the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi, the festival was inaugurated by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who was welcomed by the council’s president Mohammad Ahmed Shah to the venue.

CM Shah appreciated the organisers for holding such a grand festival in Sukkur, and noted with pleasure that similar events had been held in Lahore, Quetta and Azad Kashmir primarily to promote literature, art and culture. He commended the efforts put in by Ahmed Shah in this regard, Sukkur IBA founder Nisar Ahmed Siddiqui for his visionary leadership and Pakistan Peoples Party veteran Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah for his contributions towards making the event successful.

Expressing his pleasure over the council’s other highly successful events like Youth Festival, Theatre Festival, Children’s Festival and International Urdu Conference, the CM also recalled that the World Culture Festival held in Karachi last year had attracted participants from 44 countries and this year the number was expected to increase to over 100.

Ahmed Shah thanked CM Shah, Syed Khurshid Shah and Mushahid Hussain Syed for their support in organising the festival and acknowledged the key role played by Sukkur IBA University Vice-Chancellor Asif Ahmed Shaikh and the vision of Sukkur Mayor Arsalan Islam Sheikh which, he said, reflected in the development of the city.

Proceedings of the first day featured several thought-provoking sessions, one of them on ‘Future Leaders in the Digital Age’ and another one on ‘Film & TV Industry in the Digital Age’.

‘Sindhi Literature in the 21st Century’, ‘Employment Challenges & Opportunities for Sindh’s Youth,

‘Changes in Pakistan and the Global Landscape’, were some of the other topic discussed in different sessions.

A dialogue between Gul Mallah and Sohrab Soomro on ‘Art and Humour’; discussions on ‘Quality of Education’, ‘Violence Against Women: Causes & Solutions’, and ‘Is the Economy Recovering?’ also featured during the Day-1 deliberations.

A poetic conversation between young poets Ali Zaryoun and Umair Najmi and a session with senior journalist Sohail Warraich added to the interest of the audience.

The day’s deliberations ended with a mystic music programme, ‘Sufi Night’ held in the Sukkur IBA University’s cricket ground. Hamza Akram Qawwal group and artists Sanam Marvi and Ahsan Bari enthralled the audience.

Prominent among the others who expressed their views at the opening ceremony were Sindh Culture Minister Zulfiqar Ali Shah, writer and playwright Noor-ul-Huda Shah and eminent educationist Dr Syed Jafar Ahmed.

The festival was moderated by Dr Huma Mir.

Noor-ul-Huda Shah, in her keynote address, said that Sindh’s youth must realise the importance of preserving their culture. Mere acquiring education and degrees meant nothing if women were not given their due respect and rights in society, she said.

The issue of Sindh is not just water scarcity, but also the direction in which its youth are heading, she said.

“Sindh must be freed from the control of feudal lords and spiritual leaders … this feudal and spiritual leadership system has ruined Sindh,” she remarked.

The other prominent personalities who attended the inaugural ceremony were Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah, Mushahid Hussain Syed, Arsalan Islam Shaikh, Syed Kumail Haider Shah, Ali Hassan Zardari, Owais Qadir Shah, Zia Ul Hassan Lanjar, Mukesh Kumar Chawla, Syed Farrukh Shah, Madad Ali Sindhi, Nauman Shaikh and showbiz luminaries Mustafa Qureshi and Munawar Saeed.

Originally published in Dawn, February 26th, 2025