FAISALABAD: A two-day third Faisalabad Literary Festival kicked off at the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan auditorium on Friday and it attracted a large number of people.

The festival turned out to be a great opportunity for the citizens of the industrial city as the hall was packed at the inaugural session where Salima Hashmi and Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy addressed the audience while Bano Qudsia chaired the session.

District Coordination Officer Salman Ghani and Asghar Nadeem Syed inaugurated the festival.

The first day had a mushaira also where Munnu Bhai, Kishwar Naheed, Abbas Tabish, Anjum Saleemi and Khalid Masood recited their poetry.

People from all walks of life thronged the festival and heard the intellectuals and writers who had come from other cities.

Bookstalls have been set up there which are a special attraction for book readers.

The second and last day of the festival on Saturday (today) has more attractive sessions, including one on the late Intizar Husain where Asif Farrukhi, Kishwar Naheed and Asghar Nadeem Syed will talk on one of the legends of Urdu fiction.

There will be sessions with Zafar Iqbal, Dr Mubarak Ali, Tehmina Durrani, Irfan Khoosat, Attaul Haq Qasmi, Naeem Bukhari, Farooq Qaiser, Atiqa Odho, Zeba, Aftab Iqbal and Sarmad Khoosat.

Published in Dawn November 26th, 2016