QUETTA: The third Quetta Literary Festival started at the Balochistan University of Information Technology Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS) with the theme “Culture yesterday and today” on Monday.

The first day of festival was attended by a large number of renowned intellectuals, poets, scholars, writers, economists, artists and the people of academia.

Renowned intellectuals Amjad Islam Amjad and Dr Arifa Syeda Zehra participated in the opening ceremony of the festival. They spoke at length on culture and civilisation, calling upon the youth of the country to listen to the others’ point of view with tolerance and give space to them instead of trying to impose their own views on others.

They stressed the need for understanding each other’s views and respecting each other’s cultures and values.

Adeel Afzal, writer and leading drama artist, was the moderator at the opening ceremony.

General Officer Commanding 41 div Major General Salman Moin, who was the chief guest at the opening ceremony, said that it is a positive step to hold dialogues on social, political and economic aspects in the Quetta Literary Festival.

He said there is no dearth of talent in any filed in Balochistan and BUITEMS is a clear example of this. The institution, he added, is playing a very important role in polishing the talented youth of the province and helping them to use their talent for the betterment of the country.

Dr Faisal Khan, chief organiser of the Quetta Literary Festival, said that it is an honour for BUITEMS and the organisers that eminent personalities, including leading intellectuals, poets and experts of their fields, from across the country are participating in the festival. The festival has provided a great opportunity to the young people to interact with these eminent personalities and learn from their experiences, he added.

He said more than 150 guests would participate in 46 sessions during the two-day literary festival.

“This literary festival is unique because all the people are volunteering in it. We want to promote knowledge, literature, humanity, peace and love,” he added.

He said, “the purpose of the title ‘Hope again’ is to promote love and affection among the people.”

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2022