Category: Education

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) A high level meeting was held in Lahore between ACCA President,Mr Robert Stenhouse and the President of ICMA Pakistan, Mr Zia ul Mustafa to discuss areas of greater collaboration between the two institutions.

Also present at the meeting was senior management from both organizations including MrSajjeedAslam, Head of ACCA Pakistan, Mr Arif Masud Mirza, Regional Head of Policy at ACCA, MrHaroon Ahmed Jan, Regional Head of Member Affairs at ACCA, Mr Assad Hameed Khan, Head of Business Development at ACCA, Mr Faisal Azeem, Head of Education at ACCA, Mr Shahid Khan, Head of Business Development Central at ACCA, MsJavaria Malik, Director Marketing and Communication at ICMA Pakistan and MrSarfaraz Ahmad, Joint Director Central Region at ICMA Pakistan.

Mr Stenhouse stated, ACCA really values the partnership with ICMA Pakistan. ACCA council and executive management is committed to the MOU signed between the two organizations since December 2014 and is looking to grow the collaboration on various new areas of mutual benefit. He invited ICMA Pakistan to contribute to the global series of case studies on public sector reforms which ACCA has launched in collaboration with the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).   

Mr Ziastated, members of both ACCA and ICMA Pakistan have a lot to gain from this partnership. He explained how ICMA Pakistan is playing its role in Pakistan’s economic development and also the statutory privileges and rights earned by their members over a period of 50 years of its existence. Mr Zia appreciated ACCA for playing its role in developing the accounting and finance profession globally and expressed that broader collaboration between both organizations will further add to their national and international contribution.

MrSajjeedAslam said that our collaboration is of a national importance especially at a time when there is greaternational need for good governance, accountability and transparency. He further stressed that professional accountants have a pivotal role to play in the economic development of Pakistan through their contribution to the business community and regulatory regime.

ACCA and ICMA Pakistan have an active MOU since December 2014. This meeting was an important reflection of the shared commitment of the two institutions to collaborate, leading to greater synergy and impact in the future.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) The third and last day of the Karachi Literature Festival drew a very large number of people. Since it was a Sunday, the event received an overwhelming response with booklovers flocking to the venue in droves.

The successful 10th edition of KLF was organized by Oxford University Press (Pakistan) under the leadership of its Managing Director Arshad Saeed Husain. The KLF Organizing team and Advisory Board had put in great efforts to make the 10th KLF a resounding success, considering that there was huge pressure on them to accommodate so much in such a short time.

From several book launchings every day to panel discussions on thought-provoking subjects, documentary screenings, talks, and presentations, there was something for everyone at the KLF. The Urdu, Sindhi and English languages were also adequately represented.

The books launched on the third day of the Festival were: ‘The Economy of Modern Sindh’ by Dr. Ishrat Husain, Aijaz A. Qureshi and Nadeem Hussain. Dr. Ishrat Husain and Shamshad Akhtar discussed the book while the Moderator was Aijaz A. Qureshi. The Chief Minister of Sindh Murad Ali Shah launched the book. The book ‘No Fortunes to Tell’ by Harris Khalique triggered a conversation between Bilal Zahoor and Harris Khalique ‘Rethinking Pakistan: A 21st Century Perspectives’, edited by Bilal Zahoor and Raza Rumi, was discussed by Bilal Zahoor, Erum Sattar, I. A. Rehman and Nadeem Farooq Paracha. The Moderator was Mubashir Zaidi.  The book ‘Pakistan’s Radioactive Decade: An Informal Cultural History of the 1970s’, which has been edited by Niilofur Farrukh, Amin Gulgee, and John McCarry, was discussed by Amin Gulgee, Khusro Mumtaz, Aquila Ismail and Taimur Suri while the Moderator was Niilofur Farrukh. At the launch of the book  ‘Sindhi Adab: Aik Mukhtasar Tareekh’ by Attiya Dawood, the speakers included  Attiya Dawood, Amar Sindhu, Shah Muhammad Pirzada and Yasmeen Hameed while the Moderator was Arfana Mallah.

One of the highlights of the event was the Master Performer Zia Mohyeddin reading from the works of the Master Humorist Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi.

There was a session titled “Is Today’s Media Informing Society or Dumbing it Down?’ Participants were Ghazanfar Hashmi, Shaheen Salahuddin, Huma Baqai, and Ghazi Salahuddin. The Moderator was Wusatullah Khan. A discussion on ‘TV Drama: Rise and Fall’ featured Kaif Ghaznavi, Saif Hasan and Azra Moheyuddin while the Moderator was Khaled Anam. Anwar Maqsood delivered a talk titled ‘Kuch Bhi’ in his inimitable style.  Then there was ‘Aik Shaam Amar Jaleel kay Naam’ which was moderated by Noorul Huda Shah.

The memorial session on ‘Qurratulain Hyder ki Yaad Mein’ was titled ‘Hum Hee So Gaye Dastaan Kehtay Kehtay” Azra Abbas, Ahmed Shah and Asad Muhammad Khan participated in the discussion which was moderated by Waheed Noor. Kaiser Bengali, Ikram Sehgal and Huma Baqai spoke in the ssession titled ‘The Sorrows of Balochistan’. The session Moderator was Mujahid Barelvi.

The documentary ‘Indus Blues’ was also premiered on the 3rd day.  The film features folk artistes talked about their struggles to keep a fading art form alive while reminding the world that it was a losing battle. The director and producer of the documentary is Jawad Sharif.

Taimur Rehman presented a poetry narration of ‘Ye Kaisa Ishq Hai Urdu Zubaan ka.’  The book by Sabyn Javeri ‘Hijabistan’ was discussed with Afia Aslam as the Moderator. Taha Kehar moderated a discussion on ‘Can Literature Survive the #hashtag?’ with Sanam Maher, Sajeer Shaikh, Jahanzaib Haque and Hamna Zubair.

At a part of the closing ceremony, keynote speeches were made by Dr. Ishrat Husain, Deborah Baker, and I.A. Rehman.  Muhammad Merjuddin Ahmed, Group Head Human Resources and Administration,   J.S. Bank, also spoke on the occasion. JS Bank was one of the prime sponsors of the Festival.

Speaking on the occasion, Arshad Saeed Husain, Managing Director, Oxford University Press, Pakistan, shared his views about the 10th KLF. “This very special 10^th KLF has been a New Generation Literature Festival. Over these days, we have looked at the way things are changing. Whether in the fields of fiction, poetry, prose, music, the performing arts, the fine arts, education, publishing, the media, the economy, our cultural tapestry, our various languages, and our lives: the seasoned experts, brilliant scholars, and enthusiastic innovators who have deliberated here have been creating windows and new conceptual portals for all of us. The 10^th KLF has explored developing trends and frontiers. It has helped us, and particularly the youth who are the future of Pakistan, to grasp the Concepts of Tomorrow.” 

The 10th Karachi Literature Festival was a thoroughly enlightening and insightful affair. There is a need to have more such events to increase the appreciation of literature and the arts among public. It is incredible that the city of Karachi, which had a reputation for volatility and insecurity, is the venue of a peaceful Literature Festival which has completed ten years of impressive success.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) The second day of the Karachi Literature Festival (KLF), which is being organized by Oxford University Press (OUP), was a lively affair that attracted literature lovers despite the cold winds and rains.

Acting Deputy US Consul General graced second day of the 10^th KLF and visited different sessions that were going on at the Beach Luxury Hotel.

The first item on the day’s agenda was a discussion on ‘Filmi Gaanay aur Urdu Shairi’ in which Haseena Moin and Sultan Arshad were the speakers and Asif Noorani was the Moderator.

The Acting Deputy Head of Mission, British Deputy High Commission, Mark Rakestraw attended the screening of the documentary ‘City by the Sea: The Future of Karachi’s Coastline’ made by Mahera Omar. It was followed by a discussion between Javed Mahar, Amber Alibha and Ahmer Ali Rizvi. Another documentary ‘These Silences are all the Words’ by Madiha Aijaz was also screened followed by a discussion on the film by Maheen Zia, Marvi Mazhar and Mohammed Ali Hakeem.

The book ‘Defiance of the Rose: Selected Poems by Perveen Shakir’ translated by Naima Rashid was launched on the second day of KLF. Other book launches during the day included ‘Points of Entry: Encounters at the Origin Sites of Pakistan’ by Nadeem Farooq Paracha, the ‘ARZU Anthology (Second Edition)’, and ‘Rich People, Poor Country: The Story of Fiscal and Foreign Exchange Policies of Pakistan’ by Syed Shabbar Zaidi.

A panel discussion on ‘Urdu Theatre: Kal, Aaj aur Kal’ with Zain Ahmed, Kulsoom Aftab and Sheema Kermani also formed part of the festival. The Moderator in this session was Khaled Anam. Other panel discussions included ‘On Judicial Activism vs Judicial Restraint’ with Jamil Yusuf, Mujibullah Siddiqui, Ikram Sehgal and Huma Baqai. Stand-up comedy act ‘Filbadi Fun with LOL Waalay’ also featured on the second day.

Later in the day, a stimulating discussion on ‘Rethinking Education in the Fast-Changing World’ took place. A conversation titled ‘Complicated Images: The Arab Woman of Today and Tomorrow’ with the feminist writer Mona Eltahawy was held on Skype.

There was also a conversation between the Italian author Elena Nicolai and Aquila Ismail on ‘From Italy to Pakistan: Geography of the Soul. Another discussion featured Shafqat Ali Shah Jamote’s views on the book ‘Journey into Europe: Islam, Immigration and Identity’ by Akbar Ahmed.

The Provincial Minister of Sindh for Education, Culture, Tourism, and Antiquities, Syed Sardar Ali Shah also attended a session along with Noor ul Huda Shah on ‘Cultural Activism to Counter Extremism in Sindh.’ The Moderator was Izhar Soomro.

‘Ghalib-e Nam Avaram – 150 Years of Mirza Ghalib’ was discussed by Syed Nomanul Haq and Khalid Nadeem while Aliya Iqbal-Naqvi was the Moderator.

A Mushaira, which is a regular feature at KLF, was held on the second day of the festival..

Marvi Mazhar, Maniza Naqvi, Syed Saif Ur Rehman, Fazal Noor and Amer Zia talked about ‘The Karachi Dilemma: Conservation or Evolution’. The Moderator was Rumana Husain. The American author Deborah Baker was in conversation with the American academic Anita M. Weiss in a session titled ‘Love, War and the End of Empire’. Taha Kehar read out excerpts from his latest novel, ‘Typically Tania.’ Sarmad Faraz, Hameed Akhund and Wajid Jawad discussed ‘Ahmad Faraz: Mohabbat aur Inqilab.’ The Moderator was Mujahid Barelvi.

A thought-provoking discussion on ‘How Public is Public Art?’ with Muhammad Zeeshan, Fariha Amjad Ubaid, Hamna Zubair and Munawar Ali Syed as discussants was also held. It was moderated by Niilofur Farrukh.

Bilal Zahoor, Arshad Saeed Husain and Noman Said talked about ‘Publishing 2020 and Beyond: New Trends, Digitization and Technology’. The Moderator was Hoori Noorani. The book ‘The Selected Works of Abdullah the Cossack’ by H.M. Naqvi was also discussed by Framji Minwalla.

A discussion titled ‘Nayee Nasal ki Awaaz: Kal Hamara Hai’ was also held. Javed Jabbar gave a talk on ‘Literature: Transitions and Transformations.’ An interesting discussion titled ‘Writing Fiction for the Millennial Market’ was organized in which Nadya A. R., Maheen Humayun and Taha Kehar participated. The Moderator was Shazia Hasan.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir)  “The Karachi Literature Festival has come to occupy a premier position in the literary calendar of Karachi and I am glad to see that today it has completed 10 years. This is a platform where writers, poets, artists, actors and all those who are interested in literary activities, cultural developments and creative expression meet. These people come from Karachi, from other cities of Pakistan and also from other countries, and bring with them a special freshness and sparkle.”

“The KLF is a colourful and constructive addition to Karachi’s annual literary and cultural calendar and depicts how lively and energetic the people of this city are. I congratulate the Oxford University Press for giving KLF to this vibrant city.”

This was stated by H.E. Imran Ismail, Governor of Sindh, at the inauguration of the 10^th Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) being organized by OUP from 1-3 March at the Beach Luxury Hotel, Karachi.

This is the 10^th year of the Karachi Literature Festival, which was first held in 2010.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Mr. Arshad Saeed Husain, Managing Director, Oxford University Press, said, “Today, at this 10th KLF, we seek to explore new directions, emerging trends and examine the impact of social media and technology on literature, books, publishing, reading, and thinking. By understanding the changing times and changing opinions, KLF will help our relatively younger Pakistanis to grasp the concepts of tomorrow. Thus, KLF has become, not just a Festival, but a social movement, inspiring our youth and the literati to carry its light into the future. This friends, is the goal of the new KLF.”

The Karachi Literature Festival is spread over three days. It will feature more than 200 speakers (including 15 international speakers). There will be 80 sessions on different subjects during the three days of the Festival. More than 30 books will also be launched at the Festival.

The short film Rani and the documentary Indus Blues will be premiered at the KLF.

On the first day of the KLF, Infaq Foundation announced the Best Urdu Literature Prize which was given toRooh e QadeemkiQasam by Sabir Zafar (Published by Rang Adab Publications).

In the Main Garden, keynote speeches were delivered by ZehraNigah andMuneezaShamsie and a documentary titled ‘KLF Recollections” was shown.  This was followedby a dance performance by SheemaKirmani on FehmidaRiaz’s poem “AaoHumwatnoRaqsKaro.”

There was a panel discussion on “Pakistani Cinema – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,” attended by well-known film personalities Fahad Mustafa, Mehwish Hayat, Yasir Hussain, Munawar Saeed, Nabeel Qureshi and Asif Raza Mir. The Moderator was Ahmed Shah.

In the Jasmine Hall, a documentary titled “Qalandar Code – Rise of the Divine Feminine” was screened followed by a discussion with Atiya Khan, David C.Heath, Syed Mehdi Raza and Shah Subzwari. The moderator was AriebAzhar.

Room 007 was the venue of English poetry reading called “Voices from Far and Near”. Adrian Husain, ArfaEzazi, Athar Tahir, Farida Faizullah, Harris Khalique, Ilona Yusuf, Jaffar Khan, Mehvash Amin, MoeenFaruqi and ShireenHarounwere the participants and the session was moderated by Salman Tarek Kureshi.

There was a Book Discussion -The Begum: A Portrait of Ra’anaLiaquat Ali Khan by Deepa Agarwal and Tahmina Aziz in The Princess Hall. It featured Akbar Liaquat Ali Khan, Ra’anaLiaquat Ali Jr and Javed Aly Khan and was moderated by MuneezaShamsie.

The concluding event on the first day of the KLF was aThespianz Theatre string puppets performance titled “Safr-E-Pakistan: a Travelogue”.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Depilex College of Cosmetology hosted the graduation ceremony under the patronage of National Vocational and Technical Training Commission on other day.

The event was attended by  Dr.Ahmad Javed Qazi, Director General NAVTTC, Mr. Ahmad Jamal Assistant Director NAVTTC, Mr. Mohammad Azam- Director NAVTTC & Mr. Hammad Nasir Assistant Director,

where 100 under-privileged women were awarded with their certificates as beauticians under the scholarship program in collaboration with National Vocational and Technical Training Commission. The program aims to provide free of cost beautician courses to the low-income women of Pakistan, focused on self-grooming, make-up, hair styling, skin aesthetics, etc. Highly proficient instructors possessing great knowledge and expertise trained the batch with state of the art facility provided by Depilex at Depilex College of Cosmetology.

Masarrat Misbah, the founder of Depilex Group of Companies stated, “Women empowerment should no more be considered a taboo in our society and hence me and my team have been trying our level best to help women grow and stand for themselves. I am highly thankful to National Vocational and Technical Training Commission to support the cause of helping underprivileged women to shine and pave their path to better opportunities.”

 

One of the pioneers in makeup industry, Depilex is a renowned beauty salon and training institute. Depilex has been trailblazing the beauty industry in Pakistan from past four decades due to their expertise in hair, make-up and other aspects of grooming and beauty therapy. Not only Depilex salon, but their institute is one of the Pakistan’s largest internationally affiliated beauty institutes, having trained some of the best makeup artists, hairdressers and beauty therapists in Pakistan.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir)  “The seed and idea of literature festivals caught on and spread like wildfire in a forest where it seems that a fuel of parched trees was waiting for it”. These thoughts were expressed by Ameena Saiyid OBE, SI, Chevalier des Ordres des Arts et des Lettres, Founder and Director Adab Festival Pakistan, at the closing ceremony of first Adab Festival Pakistan.

The three-day Adab Festival Pakistan (AdabFest) featuring writers, poets, showbiz figurers and journalists concluded on Sunday. On the third & last day of AdabFest, thousands of literature lovers attended the festival. People of all ages attended the festival, including avid readers, writers, academics, and literary figures from across Pakistan and the world for the 3rd day of the festival, which began on Friday at the Sindh Governor House, Karachi.

Addressing the participants at the closing ceremony the, Ameena Saiyid said that AdabFest was a unique event but hoped it would not remain so. “For me AdabFest is a movement to spread peace and harmony through expression: that is through books, dialogue, debate, art, music, storytelling, and dance and through watching, listening, and asking questions,” she said.

In his concluding remarks, Founder & Director of Adab Fest Asif Farrukhisaid that theses 3 days were full of magical atmosphere with discussions, book launches, theaters, dramatic readings, music and through all this a wonderful answer was given to all those who were against the magnificent backdrop of this monumental location. He said this was made possible by the efforts of a very small team. He apologized for all the short comings and said that the real triumph is the way we managed to do anything at all against all odds as it took us a very painful route to reach here. He felt guided by the courageous example of Fehmida Riaz. He also acknowledged Kirshna Sobti who was born in what is now called Pakistan and is connected to us through her knowledge and historical vision. He also acknowledged Altaf Fatima and ended in the words of Khalida Hussain saying that ‘writing represents the love of life’.

CEO Getz Pharma, lead sponsor of AdabFest, Khalid Mehmood in his concluding speech said “Getz Pharma from its very inception in 1995 has always played its role to support literature and preserving our cultural heritage, as envisioned by our founding fathers for a peaceful and progressive country. Our support as lead sponsor of the Adab Festival is part of the larger mission of encouraging tolerance, dialogue and nation building without which neither the industry & the economy nor other institutions can sustain and prosper.” 

Before the closing ceremony, the third day started with the session ‘Ushering in a new area of youth activism: Hope or despair?’ with participants Faisal Siddiqi, Jibran Nasir, Alia Amirali and moderator Palvasha Shahab. The panel engaged a diverse spectrum of activists and their perspectives on the opportunities for activism that can be seized or created in moments of rupture and/or system breakdowns. It was particularly interested in exploring the potency in such moments for mobilizing youth driven movements. The panel discussed the unique sets of possibilities and opportunities that can be teased out in the Pakistani context. Pakistan operates under a certain degree of anarchy, and a continuing lack of access to justice. Given this, it was discussed as to how can we engage in effective activism to address this? When can moments of breakdown be harnessed to our advantage? What are the strategies that can be employed to raise our voices, to keep hope alive, and to emerge victorious despite the discouraging circumstances? Where can the nexus between judicial activism, advocacy and social political activism be exploited to empower the marginalized? Why is it important to bring the marginalized into the fold of ‘rule of law’?

In the session ‘Pakistan in the second globalization (we missed out on the western led post 1980 wave: can we catch the bus on the second, China led one?) the speakers Mushtaq Khan, Asad Sayeed, Ehsan Malik, Saquib Shirazi engaged in a thought provoking discussion with the moderator Salim Raza.   

Later, a dramatic presentation on P.G. Wodhouse by Richard Heller was given which was moderated by Lynette Viccaji. Parallel book launch session were held where Hani Baloch’s ‘Zind ak aadink’ (the mirror of life) was discussed by Sheema Kermani and Amar Sindhu with the author and Aleeya Khan ‘House’ was discussed by moderator Basit Usman with the author.

In the session ‘Education emergency: 22.6 million children out of school: expanding partnerships or shrinking space for private sector’ it was discussed that as per government statistics, 22.6 million are children out of school. According to recent surveys, children in school are not learning well. How do we address the challenges of access, equity, quality and governance? On one hand we have the successful launch of the government-financed Education Management Organizations (EMOs) in Sindh through the PPP Node, seeking support of non-state actors to manage new and old government schools and teacher-training facilities. On the other there has been rising judicial activism to protect families from private-sector school fee increases. The New Deal 2018-2023 speaks about a ‘robust yet flexible’ framework to streamline efforts of private actors to ensure value for money in teaching quality, recruitment, infrastructure, school management etc. What is the score so far in Naya Pakistan in its very early days ? Is there a trend towards expansion of partnerships or shrinking space for the private sector?  Speakers Zobaida Jalal, Shahid Siddiqui, Shehzad Roy Salma Alam, Faisal Mushtaq Ameena Saiyid discussed all these burning issues with moderator Baela Raza Jamil.

In the session ‘A conversation with Ahmed Rashid’ speakers Zahid Husain and Fatemeh Aman had an interesting discussion while in a parallel session ‘Dilli jo ek sheher thha’, Asif Farrukhi will talked with Zehra Nigah and Saif Mahmood (author of Beloved Delhi) about Mughal Delhi, its syncretic culture and its great Urdu poets from Sauda and Mir to Ghalib and Daagh.
   
The session ‘Life in Karachi during Ayub Khan’s rule’, a 30-minute talk was led by Lt Col Ian Vaughan-Arbuckle, followed by conversation with Ghazi Salahuddin and Sher Shah Syed.

At the book launch of Syed Kashif Raza’s ‘Chaar Darwesh Aur Ek Kachwa’ Mohammad Hanif had an interesting discussion with the author; at the book launch of ‘Kishwar Naheed’s Shirin Sukhani say paray’, Zaheda Hina and Ajmal Siraj had a discussion with the author and at the book launch of Maheen Usmani’s ‘The mercurial Mr. Bhutto and other stories’, Shafaat Ali had an interesting discussion with with the author. The parallel session ‘Making music in Karachi: A talk by Sharif Awan’ was moderated by Rafay Mehmood.

In the session on the launch of Urdu translation of Alys Faiz’s memories, ‘Kab yaad main era saath nahin’, speakers Nayyer Rubab, Zehra Nigah along with Sania Saeed viewed a short film on Alys Faiz with the moderator Moneeza Hashmi. At the book launch of Farooq Bajwa’s ‘From Kutch to Tashkent: The Indo-Pakistan War of 1965’, speakers Syed Javed Husain, Nauman Naqvi had an intriguing chat with the author along with the moderator Omayr Aziz Saiyid. At the book launch of Aysha Khan’s ‘The women’s movement in Pakistan: Activism, Islam & Democracy’, speakers Anis Haroon, Amar Sindhu,  Uzma Noorani, Sultana Siddiqui discussed the book’s details with the author with moderator Kausar Saeed Khan.

In the session ‘What about the rest? Challenges and strategies in National league pedagogy’, speakers Suleman Shahid, Inam Nadeem, Zahid Hassan, Imdad Husaini along with the moderator Gwen Kirk discussed that the mother-tongue of most Pakistanis is not Urdu, but too few institutions teach Balochi, Pashto, Punjabi, Sindhi etc, as second languages. The rare institutions that are developing programs to teach these face not only academic and infrastructural, but also ideological challenges questioning the value of teaching these languages, and the skills required to teach them. Teaching diverse Pakistani languages as second languages can contribute to a more just and interconnected society. How can teachers develop material to serve both heritage and non-heritage students? How can digital technologies help?

At the book launch of Mohammad Hanif’s ‘Red Birds’ Madeeha Syed and Saira Shah Halim discussed the details of the book with the author. Similarly at the book launch of Iftikhar Salahuddin’s ‘If stones could speak. Echoes from the past’, Javed Jabbar had an interesting interaction with the author. This session was presided over by Zehra Nigah.

In the session Urdu edition of Peter Oborne’s “Wounded Tiger: A History of Cricket in Pakistan” Richard Heller, Najum Latif, Qamar Ahmed discussed cricketing information with the author. Dr Saad Shafqat moderated the session.
   
In the session ‘Stefan Weidner’, it was discussed how the Islamic tradition can help us to deal with exile & alienation and origins and recent developments in German public discourse. This included a lecture by the German writer, intellectual, translator (from Arabic) and former editor of the cultural magazine “Fikrun wa Fann”. The session was moderated by Kamran Asdar Ali.

In the much awaited session ‘Transformation and Resistance: The challenging art landscape in Pakistan’, Salima Hashmi, Mohammad Zeeshan, Adeela Suleman with moderator Rabeya Jalil discussed the diversity and depth of art-making in Pakistan was evident in the Karachi and Lahore biennales.

In the session ‘Pakistan’s population prerogative: A talk by Mehtab Karim’, Asif Iqbal, Naeem uz Zafar discussed details with moderator Yasmeen Kazi that the 2017 census results indicated that during the past 20 years, Pakistan’s population has been growing @ 2.4% per annum, and in 2018 has exceeded 213 million, adding about 79 million people during the last 20 years. The 2017-18 Pakistan Demographic & Health surveys results have been equally alarming, indicating that fertility rate in Pakistan has remained much higher than other South Asian countries. The rapid population growth rate in Pakistan has resulted in poor health indictors particularly of women and children; increasing number of illiterates; keeping poverty level high and rapid urban growth.  The session discussed the results of the 2017 census and its resultant social and economic consequences.