LAHORE: The fifth edition of the Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) took place on Saturday in tight security arrangements with people pouring in from all over the globe to attend the many different sessions being conducted by writers and artists from Pakistan and abroad.
LLF’s commencement had come into doubt after a number of events which included cutting days from the event and the schedule, along with venue changes. The event had originally been billed as a three-day festival to be held at Alhamra but security concerns resulted in the event being cut down to two days. It was later decided that the event would be wrapped up in one day and that it would be held at Avari across Alhamra. However, just at the last moment, the venue was changed yet again, and the event was moved to Faletti’s hotel.
The event went ahead under stringent security measures, with as many as 400 police officials deputed under the supervision of eight SHOs, four DSPs and four SPs. The police officials remained on their toes while the event was happening by keeping a tight clasp on Mall Road. DIG Operations Dr Haider Ashraf and Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Captain retired Amin Wains also visited Faletti’s to monitor the security arrangements. CCPO Lahore said the Lahore police are trying hard to provide security to the citizens of the metropolitan, and today’s event is an apt example of their dedication.
The confusion regarding which talks would inevitably be cut and where the event would be held next did not deter the people of the city—and indeed from all across the world—to come in and engage with the delegates, and socialise with other attendees.
A number of talks and sessions had to be cancelled due to the sudden changes in plan, but even the delegates, who had been cancelled, remained positive, making sure to get their messages across by mingling with the throngs of people, and talking to them during the breaks between the sessions. Although a rushed affair, this year’s event was free from controversy unlike last year—which was vigorously protested by the Punjabi literary circles of Lahore.
Some visitors of the LLF, though, were not satisfied with the programme due to the chopping of events and organisational mixups. “I have attended all the five editions of LLF and I found a lack of enthusiasm among the audience this time around, but it might be because the festival was cut down to a single day event,” said Zaeem Saqif, a recent university graduate. Von Tunzelmann, a British historian and author praised the passion of the people of Lahore. Talking to Pakistan Today, she said she was not expecting such a huge number of people to turn up.
While there were definite disappointments such as Tehmina Durrani’s talk “The Edhi way out” and the Ahmed Rashid moderated “Writings from the Arab Maelstrom” being cancelled, the organisers managed to pull off 20 events in the nine-hour short span of the event without any real mistakes. Overall, the event proved to be very well organised and well received given the conditions under which it was held.
Additional Reporting by Hassaan Ahmed
