ISLAMABAD: Humorous poets led by Anwar Masood entertained participants of the last session of Islamabad Literary Festival (ILF) that concluded on Sunday.

Anwar Masood, Salman Gillani, Mohammad Arif and other poets participated in this session and spread smiles on the faces of participants of the festivals. All poets performed brilliantly, but Mr Masood enthralled the audience the most with his poetry in Urdu and Punjabi.

The third day of the festival started with a programme called Youth Role models, which was attended by people belonging to different walks of life. The programme was hosted by Absa Komal.

Badminton player Ayesha Akram, football and basketball player Sana Mehmood, boxing player Mohammad Shoaib, renowned artist Bano Rehmat, art director Kamran Khan and table tennis player Raheela were also present at the festival.

Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman Noorul Amin Mengal also participated in a panel discussion. Speaking at the programme, Ayesha Akram said that CDA had played a huge role in her success because whenever she needed to prepare for any international or domestic competition, the management provided her the Iqbal Hall Badminton Court.

She said that hard work is the main ingredient to get success in any field of life, followed by parents’ trust in their children. Sana Mehmood said that basketball and football were considered male sports, but with hard work girls can serve the country.

Famous boxer from Quetta Mohammad Shoaib said there are about 36 sports being played, but boxing is the only sport in which blood flows along with sweat. Bano Rehmat, a singer from Kashmir said that she started her career with radio and she had to face huge challenges to reach this point of her career which she said, she could not have done without her family.

Famous art director Kamran Khan said that his field involved training of models belonging to the fashion industry, adding that very little work was being done in this sector in Pakistan.

He said that he has represented Pakistan in Dubai Fashion Week where his work was highly appreciated.

Raheela, an international table tennis player, said that unfortunately, table tennis facilities are non-existent in Islamabad. She requested the CDA chairman to ensure that these facilities are provided to people in Islamabad.

Mr Mengal said that CDA has decided that it will hand over the facilities to the civil society after building them. He also said that the civic agency had decided to create a Sports Support Fund under which, funds will be provided to national players to help them financially.

A programme was also organised on Galyat and Murree, in which Dr Vaqar Zakaria, Anis ur Rehman, Parvez Abbas and Bilal Abbasi participated. Parvez Abbas hosted the programme. They said that Murree and Galyat are very beautiful and of historical importance, so steps must be taken to ensure that forests in these areas are protected.

They also requested tourists to take care of cleanliness while visiting various areas.

The programme Pakistani Nasar key 75 Saal was presented and Mohammad Amin Shahid, Neelam Ahmed Bashir and Hafeez Khan participated in it.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2023