Lahore is all set to hold the popular literary festival at the end of this week as the fourth edition of Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) is going to commence from February 19 and would continue for three consecutive days.
The first edition of LLF was held in 2013 and since then three editions have successfully taken place in which people hailing from different walks of life have participated fervently.
Earlier there were reports that the Litfest could be delayed due to security concerns but organizers and police said strict arrangements have been made at the venue to ensure a peaceful environment to the participants and speakers.
The festival would kick off with a conversation session between the legendary Bollywood actress Sharmila Tagore and publisher of Dawn newspaper Hameed Haroon who is also a member of Board of Governors of the LLF.
The veteran actress, who has won two National Film Awards, would reveal her journey of Bollywood in front of the people of Lahore at 11am on Friday.
On the first day, a session has also been reserved to pay tribute to the celebrated fiction writer Intizar Hussain who passed away just a few days back. Kishwar Naheed, Khalid Ahmed, Nasir Abbas Nayyar, Yasir Pirzada and Masood Ashar would participate in the session “The World of Intizar Hussain”.
The same day, another session would be held under the title of “Multiculturalism in Flux” in which Kenan Malik, Qaiser Mehmood and Steve Coll will speak and the session would be moderated by Ahmed Rashid.
Around a dozen books will also be launched during the three-day literary extravaganza.
The founder and CEO of LLF said in a statement that the festival would be free and open to public in which voices from home and abroad would participate in thought-provoking discussions.
According to Nusrat Jamil, the chairperson of LLF organising committee, five parallel sessions would be arranged simultaneously ranging from fiction to music, from poetry to history and from architecture to travel.
The LLF depicts that Lahore is thriving as a very vibrant literary conference was also held in December last year in which literary icons also participated from all over the world.
The festival would mark the presence of Hameed Haroon, Ahmad Rashid, Salima Hashimi, FS Aijazuddin, Muhammad Hanif, CM Naim, Kamila Shamsie, Asif Farrukhi, A G Norani, Khaled Ahmed and many more.
The sessions of LLF will be held at Alhamra Hall number 1, 2 and 3, The Mall, Lahore.
The Board of Governors of the Lahore Literary Festival comprises prominent businessman Iqbal Z Ahmed, Hameed Haroon, Nayyar Ali Dada, Dr Pervez Hassan, Attiq Ahmed, Fasih Ahmed, Razi Ahmed and Sadia Ahmed.
