KARACHI: United Bank Limited (UBL) organised 8th annual literary awards on Saturday at a local hotel to honour the literary persons for their contributions to society.
The event was attended by a host of writers, literary and media personalities, socialites and celebrities. According to details, more than 130 entries were received for seven categories.
The books, which were written by Pakistani authors and published in Pakistan in 2017 and 2018, were shortlisted by an esteemed panel of judges which included Dr Asghar Nadeem Syed, Dr Asif Farrukhi, Mr. Ghazi Salahuddin, Dr Arfa Syeda, Ms Kishwar Naheed, Dr Anwaar Ahmad and Masood Ashar.
The winners from each category are: Urdu Fiction ‘Jindar by Akhtar Raza Salimi’, Urdu Non-Fiction ‘Us Ko Ik Shakhs Samajhna Tou Munasib Nahin by Dr Nasir Abbas Nayyar’, Urdu Poetry ‘Tum Kabeer by Fahmida Riaz’, Translation into Urdu ‘Dur Uftada Shehr Say Aik Taveel Nazam by Munawar Hussain’, Children’s Urdu Literature Nazmein, Pahelian Aur Nasr Paray by Shanul Haq Haqqi’, English non-fiction ‘The Faltering State by Tariq Khosa’ and
Children’s English Literature ‘Partition by Amina Azfar’.
The UBL for the first time in the history of the Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award was also presented to Ms Zehra Nigah for her extensive and extraordinary body of work.
While speaking on the occasion, Sima Kamil, President & CEO UBL said “Pakistan is a wonderful mix of cultures, languages and ethnicities and our literary lineage is best proof of that.
“UBL considers it incumbent upon itself to recognize and inspire writers to continue contributing to the country’s literary wealth. We hope that the literary impetus does not slacken and that future generations continue to take advantage of these literary treasures”, she added.