11th International Urdu Conference begins in Karachi

The four-day 11th International Urdu Conference 2018, which features scholars and poets from all over the world, began at Karachi's Arts Council on Thursday.  The conference’s first session will start at 4pm and will be inaugurated by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. Renowned writers such as Shamim Hanfi, Zia Mohyeddin, Zehra Nigah, Mustensar Hussain Tarar, Umar Jalil, Iftikhar Arif, Raza Ali Abidi and other leading figures from the Urdu literature world will be taking part. A documentary covering the 10 international Urdu conferences held so far will also be shown. In the second session, a documentary based on the life of poet and philosopher Jaun Elia will be played. His close aides like Adil Zada, Pirzada Qasim, Iqbal Qasim and Wusutullah Khan will speak about Elia’s life and poetry. Related: Poet, author and feminist icon Fahmida Riaz passes away Satirist and writer Anwar Maqsood will spread smiles during the third session with his satirical humour. Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi President Ahmed Shah told SAMAA Digital that this is the world’s biggest festival of Urdu literature. “An event of Urdu literature on such a huge scale is not held anywhere in the world and all the credit for organizing it goes to the Arts Council,” he said. Related: Poet, author and feminist icon Fahmida Riaz passes away To make the conference successful, different aspects of Urdu literature will be covered and more variety of topics will be featured, he added. The classical dance session has been postponed following the death of poet Fahmida Riaz.