Lively Discussions and Performances Mark Second Day of KLF 2026

Karachi, February 7, 2026: During his inaugural speech on Friday, Chief Minister Sindh, Murad Ali Shah said, “Oxford University Press has created the Oxford Education Programme for Sindh. We will be collaborating with Oxford University and implementing this programme to improve learning outcomes for the students of Sindh and to empower our teachers with the skills and resources they need to shape the future.” He went on to say, “Literature in a Fragile World, as this year’s KLF theme is both timely & deeply relevant. Literature serves as a stabilizing and humanizing force in such times. This land continuously produced voices that talk about pluralism. Sindh Government is committed to provide an enabling environment where talent can flourish. Time spent with books is time never wasted. Literature is to create, question and illuminate.”

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The second day of KLF saw the theme being lively celebrated as a large audience participated in a full programme of panel discussions on education, literature, culture and public interest held across several venues at the Beach Luxury Hotel. 

The day began with strong literary sessions in the Main Garden and halls, including a tribute to the legendary Baloch poet, Atta Shad, reflecting KLF’s commitment to regional languages and our literary heritage. At the same time, book talks and launches brought writers and readers together, introducing them to new genres of writing. Of public interest were two book launches, 32 Onkar Road by Syed Shabbar Zaidi and Voices of Valour: A Tribute to Christian Defenders of Pakistan by Noel Khokhar.

Audiences interacted with well-known scholars, poets and thinkers, including Walid Iqbal, Nasir Abbas Nayyar, Sam Dalrymple and Sara Malkani. Major book launches, such as Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia and Progressive Laws in Patriarchal Societies: Lessons from Pakistan, filled halls and sparked lively debate on South Asian history, law and social justice.

Sessions on key national issues drew strong interest, covering topics such as evolving power dynamics in South Asia, institutional reform, the economy and the changing dynamics of Urdu drama. Panels featuring Dr. Ishrat Husain, Asad Umar, Miftah Ismail, Sara Malkani and Nazish Brohi highlighted KLF’s strength in linking literature with policy, economics and society. Dr. Ishrat Husain remarked “We have become too dependent on raw materials & imported goods. You have to invest in steel, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, lithium batteries. Switch to services sectors more than goods”. 

Cultural events added further richness to the programme, with discussions on Sufi traditions in Karachi, the power of storytelling and Pakistani fashion in the modern age. Prominent voices included filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, poet Zehra Nigah and actor-filmmaker Usman Mukhtar. Filmmaker, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy said, “CM Sindh Murad Ali Shah & Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab have promised to make a Citizens Archive Museum in Karachi similar to the one made in Lahore”.

In the session on Economic Reset, Muhammad Ali, Advisor to PM on Privatization stated that “Economic issues will not get resolved on a tactical level. We have to start from a structural level. We need to fix the economic documentation system to fix the taxation problem. We have to reduce the government footprint. We need to integrate women in the workforce. We need to reduce the sizes of provinces & empower local governments.”

The Youth Pavilion celebrated performances by the selected school children who participated in the ‘Obhartay Sitaray’ competition, session on ‘Empowering a Deaf Child’, learning SEO with Abdul Hadi, songs of ‘Bachpan kay Geet, Umar Bhar ki Yaadain’, Young Readers Dialogue and a session on robotics.

There were parallel sessions on language, gender, education and the arts. These included book launches by Shahid Siddiqui, discussions on women in print culture, the future of education and contemporary poetry. In the session ‘Telling Her Story: Women in Print’, Writer Maniza Naqvi said, “All the conversation will all go away, until you save it. This is our history that we need to save through magazines. The covers alone give you historical accounts. Archiving process is the most heroic thing we can do as a nation to our country and to our world.”

The second day of KLF 2025 once again confirmed the festival’s position as Pakistan’s leading literary and cultural event. The evening ended with a screening of Chikkar and a lively mushaira celebrating poetry. Tomorrow, Sunday February 8 is the last day of the festival and it promises to showcase an exciting and packed program.