The five-day 19th “Karachi International Book Fair” at the city’s Expo Karachi concluded successfully on Monday.
KIBF featured 330 stalls from 40 institutions of 17 countries. Publishers offered discounts of up to 70 percent on the last day. The Turkish stall distributed free books, drawing a large crowd. The fair witnessed a significant increase in attendance and sales. Publishers reported selling a record number of books, with many stalls running out of stock. Visitors demanded more book fairs in Karachi and other Sindh cities.
Commissioner Karachi Syed Hasan Naqvi attended the closing ceremony, praising the organisers and Convener Waqar Mateen for their efforts. Coordinator Taha Jamal and Sheikh Alamgir Yousuf were also honored with bouquets for their services.
Addressing the ceremony, Convener of the 19th KIBF Waqar Mateen said that all records of public attendance were broken this year.
He announced that future book fairs would include cultural and poetry programs, as well as dialogues between authors. Waqar Mateen, said that all previous records of participation of citizens and students have been broken. “I am grateful to the citizens of Karachi for this reception and congratulate them,” he added.
Visitors purchased books on history, novels, travelogues and children’s stories, comics and textbooks. A large turnout of students, scholars and citizens had boosted their morale and demonstrated the love for books.
The convener of the Publishers participating in the 19th KIBF said that like every year, this year too, record books have been sold and the stocks have run out. The five-day book fair, which was held from December 12 to 16, continued to attract political, social and government figures.