KARACHI: The three-day 15th Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) organised by Oxford University Press (OUP) at the Beach Luxury Hotel concluded on Sunday on the thought that words have the beauty and power to change the world.

Keynote speaker scholar Najeeba Arif, who specialises in archival research, said that words can be used as weapons or tools to change mindsets. “Then words have power and power can be used both positively as well as negatively,” she said.

“Words can give you sustainability and change, too,” she said. “But the word ‘change’ is now associated with political slogans so let’s concentrate more on alteration here. But sustainability means preservation. Ecological, social and economic sustainability and steadfastness are interlinked. Ecology, society and economics also depend on each other. To improve our present, we need to care about our future too. For short-term gains one cannot ignore lasting benefits,” she added.

Joseph Massad, professor of Modern Arab Politics and Intellectual History in the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies at Columbia University, the second keynote speaker at the closing ceremony, spoke about liberalism and democracy.

Final day of festival sees largest number of visitors attending various sessions, debates, book launches

“They are not separate entities but complementary ideals, together forming the bedrock of modern governance, ensuring justice, freedom, and opportunity for all,” he said.

“Liberal forms of democracy have never left economic democracy. In the hands of the elite, political democracy will also ensure elite hegemony over most people,” he pointed out, adding that this means instead of providing subsidies on food and fuel and supporting health and educational services for the population, the state supports expenditures on the military and the police to repress the opposition from the poor.

Earlier, acknowledging the continuous support of four literary luminaries, who have been with KLF since its inception in 2010, the organisers honoured Zehra Nigah, Itikhar Arif, Kishwar Naheed and Muneeza Shamsie.

While expressing his gratitude for their sponsors, volunteers and participants, OUP managing director Arshad Saeed Hussain, said that their commitment to intellectual discourse embodied the values that OUP Pakistan held dear. “Thank you, team, friends and guests for your unwavering support in promoting the power of education, knowledge and storytelling. Together, we continue to shape a sustainable future through the magic encoded in literature.”

Being a weekend holiday, the third and final day of the festival saw the largest number of visitors attending the various sessions, including panel discussions, debates, literary dialogues, book launches, talks, theatrical presentations, film screenings, poetry readings, etc.

With the recent elections still on people’s minds, the session titled ‘Election 2024: Aik Naya Zawiya [A New Viewpoint]’ based on the idea that democracy in Pakistan did not depend on voters but on those counting the votes.

Moderator and senior journalist Mujahid Barelvi said that the elections might have been over, but there were new developments, concepts and ideas still flowing regarding the polls.

Panellist retired Justice Shaiq Usmani was of the view that new concepts had brought turmoil in the country’s politics.

Another panellist Justice Anwar Mansoor Khan, the former Attorney General of Pakistan, said that if fairness was removed from the elections, then the mandate of the people was not transferred to the true representatives of the people. “Thus Pakistan’s people are not represented in the parliament,” he pointed out.

Senior journalist Shaheen Salahuddin said that it had been decided already how to pull the strings of the puppets. “But for the first time the ones pulling puppets’ strings have their own strings being pulled by others. When you think about the country and the nation you cannot also underestimate your country’s youth,” she said.

There were some 10 books launches held on the last days, which included Qaum, Mulk, Sultanat: Citizenship and National Belonging in Pakistan by Ali Usman Qasmi; Pakistan: Search for Stability edited by Maleeha Lodhi; A World of Her Own: Ada Jafarey by Amir Jafarey with Asra Jafarey; The Whispering Chinar by Ali Rohila; and Among My Own: The Untold Stories of My People by Dr Naseem Salahuddin.

Finally, the audience was treated to a captivating Sufi qawwali performance by Qawwal Najmuddin Saifuddin and Brothers.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2024