KARACHI: City Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab has said that hosting the 29th Aalmi Mushaira was a good omen for Karachi, which will promote the academic and literary interest of the citizens, and inculcate constructive and positive thinking in them.

Cultural and literary activities had been the tradition of the city, he said on participating the mushaira held at the Expo Centre Karachi, said a statement on Monday.

He said that the citizens of Karachi had always shown their full support and encouragement as a nation; “we must maintain our vibrant traditions so that future generations can also benefit from them”. Through international exhibitions and literary events, Karachi continued to prove itself as a rich land of cultural and literary credibility, he said.

Present on the occasion were Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Karachi Commissioner Hassan Naqvi, Iftikhar Arif, Prof Sahar Ansari, Dr Pirzada Qasim, Anwar Shaoor, Mahmood Sham, Khursheed Rizvi, Senator Abdul Haseeb, event’s chief organiser Mahmood Ahmed Khan, mayor’s coordinator for the mushaira Ali Hassan Sajid and a large number of other poets participating in the programme.

29th Aalmi mushaira held

The mayor said the participation of a large number of people from all walks of life in the mushaira was a proof that the people of Karachi fully appreciated the quality literary activities and consider such programmes an honour for them.

He expressed the hope that organising the Aalmi Mushaira in Karachi would continue in the future as well and efforts would be made to ensure the participation of more poets from outside the country and other cities of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2024