RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The 8th Karachi Literature Festival was concluded on Sunday, its third and last day when noted scholar Dr Ayesha Jalal and President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Masood Khan also enlightened the Karachiites by their expert opinion on the establishment of Pakistan.

Renowned poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz was remembered and paid rich tributes as well. Books on him were also launched

An interesting and informative session was held on "The Birth of Two Nations" where Harris Khalique was the moderator while Ayesha Jalal, Sayeed Hasan Khan, Sardar Mohammad Masood Khan, and Roger Long spoke.

They also elaborated on whether the partition of India could be said birth of two nations or the birth of two states in the light of Two Nation Theory. The conversation began in response to this opening question in which Ayesha Jalal said that in this case the idea of Muslim nationalism was raised on behalf of all Indian Muslims but this Pakistani homeland that was created did not include all the Muslims of India. Hindu and Muslims got entangled in that prism of partition and ended up in two nation-states India and Pakistan which also divide the Muslims between these two entities. The session concluded after the said scholars and former diplomat agreed that it was a birth of two states rather than two nations. Citing the creation of Bangladesh, Sayeed Hasan declared the partition resulted in the birth of three nations.

US-based professor of history Robert D Long who edited and contributed in the Oxford University's book on the history of Pakistan said that founder of Pakistan Jinnah kept the definition of Pakistan vague hence different people gave different meaning and interpretation to it.

Meanwhile, a video competition "Making Change in Pakistan: What Works, and What Doesn't" was also another interesting event where the judges were Sarmad Khoosat, Nadeem F Paracha and Pervez Hoodbhoy.

Adeel Hashmi took recited poetry to pay homage to his grandfather Faiz Ahmed Faiz, an eminent Left-leaning progressive poet at the "Celebrating Faiz" where Zehra Nigah shared her views on how simple Faiz was.

"Faiz was very patient and known as man of peace, he never even complained about his imprisonment nor his loneliness," she said.

Mansha Pasha, Pakistani drama artist; Maheen Karim, a fashion designer and Zeb Bangash expressed their views at "The Future of Pakistan's Creative's: Film, Fashion, and Music." They also discussed the evolution of Pakistani film industry and the issue of women empowerment in society. They laid their emphasis on the point that the only purpose of woman is not to get married, there is more to life than that.

On the last day of KLF 11 books were launched. They included: "Dear Heart: To Faiz in Prison, 1951-1955 and "Over My Shoulder" by Alys Faiz , Daddy's Boy by Shandana Minhas, "Fasana Raqam Karain" by Mujahid Barelvi, Love in Chakiwara and Other Misadventures by Bilal Tanweer, Those Children by Shahbano Bilgrami, Ajmer Sharif: Awakening of Sufism in South Asia by Reema Abbasi, The Pakistan Anti-Hero: History of Pakistani Nationalism through the Lives of Iconoclasts by Nadeem F. Paracha, Interpreting Islam, Modernity, and Women's Rights in Pakistan by Anita M. Weiss, Hybrid Tapestries: The Development of Pakistani Literature in English by Muneeza Shamsie, and Hindustan Ki Mauseequi by Abdul Halim Sharar.

"Partition: Drawing Borders in Blood" was another event at the KLF where the story was narrated on how a family that was separated during the Partition and its aftermath and its reunion because of the publication of the book by Ishtiaq Ahmed "Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned, and Cleansed." It was story of Harbhajan Kaur who later became Shahnaz Begum. She and her son Rizwan were present and introduced to the audience.