Reading & learning festival, books launching & dialogues with writers attract crowds
Federal Minister for Education & Professional Training, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui along with Minister for Culture & National Heritage Aurangzeb Khichi and Parliamentary Secretary for Education & Professional Training Farah Naz Akbar on Tuesday inaugurated the 3-day National Book Fair 2025 at Lok Virsa.
The national book fair that was made possible by the tireless efforts of the Managing Director (MD) of the National Book Foundation (NBF) Dr Kamran Jahangir and his team and with the cooperation and collaboration of the Idara-e-Taleem-o-Agahi (ITA) will continue for two more days i.e. Nov 26 & 27.
On the first day, the NBF’s book fair which is taking place after a gap of six years (due to COVID-19 and other factors) saw a large number of visitors who had arrived either to purchase books on discount rates or to listen to their favourite writers and poets.
After cutting the ribbon, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui in his address appreciated the NBF, ITA, Lok Virsa and other supporting organizations and stakeholders for devoting three days to reading, writing, literary and intellectual debates.
Dialogue is something our society is missing and through this book fair, the NBF has provided the scholars and intellectuals a platform to have a direct communication with the public and answer their questions on a wide range of topics, he said.
Minister for Education shared that Socrates, nearly 2,500 years ago, said a person’s book is his identity — and identity is what others acknowledge and recognize.
“The very first command of our faith was Iqra — to read. Pakistan was achieved through great sacrifices; human freedom does not come by chance but by choice. Today, your efforts appear to be part of that very choice,” he remarked. He expressed gratitude to Minister for Culture & National Heritage Aurangzeb Khan Khichi for providing the venue of Lok Virsa to host the book fair.
Siddiqui emphasized that a nation must preserve its culture and traditions in all their vibrancy. The magic of the written word, he said, is that when it passes through the heart, it becomes illumination.
“Let us use this illumination to enlighten our people, and let us give wings to our time through knowledge, reflection, and understanding,” he concluded.
Culture & Heritage Minister Aurangzeb Khan Khichi said the book festival would greatly benefit the young generation particularly the students and the future leaders. It is a matter of great honour and prestige for us that the NBF is hosting its book fair at the Lok Virsa, he said.
In her address, Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training Farah Naz Akbar thanked Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui for bringing students together and arranging a well-organized programme. She also commended the NBF MD’s endeavours in promoting reading and learning in society.
Earlier in his welcome address, MD NBF Dr Kamran Jahangir said the NBF was hosting the national book fair on the directions of the Education Minister, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. This is a tradition of the NBF and I am happy to revive that, he said. The MD further said that after Islamabad, such book fairs and literary events would also take place in other major cities of the country including Lahore, Karachi and others.
Chairman ITA, Kazim Saeed said the ITA’s Learning & Reading Festival was also a landmark event in which students of various schools of the federal capital enthusiastically participated. Our festival is mainly for learning, he said. this is 96th such festival, he said and expressed gratitude to the NBF with whose cooperation 11 books for children were written. Dr Muhammad Waqas Saleem and Secretary NBF Murad Ali Mohmand were also among the organizers who received the guests and supervised the overall arrangements.
