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KARACHI, Nov 07 (APP): The 10th Adab Festival will be held at Habitt City, located at Sharea Faisal/Tipu Sultan Road, Karachi, on Saturday, November 22, from 1 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., and on Sunday, November 23, from 12 noon to 9:30 p.m.
Announcing the event at a press conference on Friday, Ameena Saiyid, Founder and Director of the Adab Festival and Managing Director of Lightstone Publishers, said that this year’s edition features “a carefully curated programme” with a diverse lineup of prominent writers, journalists, scholars, and public figures.
Notable participants include Zehra Nigah, Farhatullah Babar, Zahid Hussain, Kishwar Naheed, Shandana Minhas, Wusatullah Khan, Zarrar Khuhro, Dr Ishrat Husain, Mian Raza Rabbani, Shahzad Ghiaz, Yasmin Lari, Munis Abdullah, Dr Faisal Mushtaq, Sultana Siddiqui, Mahtab Rashdi, Sharmila Faruqui, Shazia Marri, General Moinuddin Hyder, Dr Mohammad Ali Shaikh, Azaz Syed, Nadeem Farooq Paracha, Shabbar Zaidi, Syed Salim Raza, Noorul Huda Shah, Saif Samejo, Saeed Mehdi, Sarwat Mohiuddin, Salma Alam, Arshad Mahmood, Omayr Aziz Saiyid, Sumera Naqvi, Nadia Naqi, Fazil Jamili, Azhar Abbas, Naila Mahmood, Omar Shahid Hamid, Safinah Danish Elahi, Taha Kehar, Mazhar Abbas, Anjum Halai, Muhammad Ali Shaikhi, Salman Faruqui, and Dr Huma Baqai.
Saiyid said that the festival will feature sessions encouraging critical discussions, challenging dominant narratives, and exploring alternative perspectives.
She added that the Adab Festival/Infaq Foundation Awards will also be announced during the event, recognizing outstanding works in Urdu, English, and Sindhi. Books to be discussed include Beyond the Bomb by Munir Ahmad Khan, Pakistan’s Nuclear Odyssey by Farhatullah Babar, The Eyewitness: Standing in the Shadows of Pakistan’s History by Saeed Mehdi, Queen Zarqa, A Transgender’s Odyssey by Hayat Roghani (translated by Shama Askari), and The Future of Civilization by Syed Ahmed Taqi.
Saiyid expressed her gratitude to the Adab Festival’s partners — including Lightstone Publishers, the Sindh Government, DAWN, the British Council, Institute of Business Management, Habib Metropolitan Bank, Bank of Punjab, Faysal Bank, PARCO, OGDC, TCS, Habitt Karachi, and Maliha and Munir Bhimjee — for their continued support. She also acknowledged the dedicated efforts of the Adab Festival team at Lightstone Publishers in making the event possible.