Even on Monday morning, the final day of the 19th Karachi International Book Fair (KIBF) at the Expo Centre, there were long lines of madressah and schoolchildren eager to get their hands on books from around 300 stalls spread across three large halls.
According to a report by Dawn on Tuesday, it wasn’t just the young ones who flocked to the fair; older visitors also benefited from this highly anticipated annual event on Karachi’s cultural calendar.
Fizza, a third-year interior design student at Indus University, carried a bag of books on Monday. She told Dawn, “I like reading fiction, mostly Anna Holmes’s books.”
Her classmate, Huda, also enjoys fiction and thrillers. At KIBF, she found books priced as low as Rs. 200.
Among the attendees was 85-year-old Sabir Ali, who sat down to rest after browsing one of the halls. “I spent my life in pharmacy, and now I enjoy reading. I’m here to buy religious books.”
Sabir Ali was with his son, Dr. Sameer, a dentist. He said, “I’ve bought religious books, but I also got some fiction for my children, including ‘Silent Killers’.”
At one of the stalls, mystery books by Ibn-i-Safi and Ishtiaq Ahmed were prominently displayed, with the latter’s characters Mahmud, Farooq, and Farzana written on top to attract readers.
Ahmed Raza, a salesman, noted that many people visited their stall over the five days to buy stories by Ishtiaq Ahmed and Ibn-i-Safi. “Yesterday (Sunday) was very crowded. People of all ages bought Ibn-i-Safi books.”
Aziz Khalid, chairperson of the Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers Association (PPBA), was thrilled with this year’s fair.
“This year’s fair is even bigger and better. Today (Monday), many schools attended, and members of all major political parties came over the past five days, showing a collective interest in spreading education,” he said.
Khalid estimated that more people attended the 2024 KIBF than last year, though exact numbers would take a few days to determine. “But I can confidently say it’s more than last year’s 400,000 visitors.”
He mentioned that Urdu books were particularly popular, and small bookstore owners did brisk business, which is why they request more stalls each year. “Our target audience is the middle class, not the elites.”
For this reason, the organizers did not hold a formal ceremony on the last day of KIBF. “Since it’s a Monday and schools are open, we want as many children as possible to visit,” Khalid said.
