KARACHI: The Karachi World Book Fair (KWBF) continued to attract thousands of visitors at Expo Centre on the third day.

The five-day event is organised by the Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers Association.

The organisers claimed that more than 300,000 citizens, including school and college students, visited the book fair by Saturday.

They said the objective is to promote reading habits, strengthen intellectual awareness and connect the younger generation with books, for which they are receiving strong public support and appreciation.

The availability of quality books in various languages by local and international publishers offers a unique opportunity for book lovers.

They added that special activities for children, educational sessions and literary dialogues are also being organised during the KWBF to encourage a culture of reading. The strong public interest, they said, is clear proof that the book remains alive and influential even today.

Prominent among those visited the book fair are Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan Chairman and Federal Education Minister Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly Ali Khurshidi, Jamaat-i-Islami leader Monem Zafar, National Book Foundation’s Dr Kamran Jahangir.

Talking to the media, the MQM-P chief said: “Karachi is small Pakistan, if Karachi runs, Pakistan thrives. Pakistan is ours, we have to save it. The way Karachi has been treated by national consensus for 17 years has been defeated today.”

JI’s Monem Zafar said that this book fair had proven that this city was a city of those who love knowledge and books.

“There is no substitute for friendship with books. The use of technology is necessary, but despite this, the importance of books cannot be ignored. Books guide an individual’s life.”

The book fair features 329 stalls set up by domestic and foreign publishers and booksellers, including publishers and booksellers from 17 countries including Malaysia, Turkey, Egypt and the UAE.

The event will continue till Monday (tomorrow).

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2025