KARACHI: The 30th Sakinan-i-Shehr-i-Quaid International Mushaira will be held at Expo Centre on Saturday (today). Speaking at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Friday, event’s chief organiser Mahmood Ahmed Khan said the first edition of the mushaira was organised in 1989 and its founding members were the likes of Azhar Abbas Hashmi, Safwan­ullah and Dr Pirzada Qasim. Over the years, it has bec­ome one of the biggest literary events in the country, he said. He said this year the poets who are coming to Karachi from other parts of Pakistan include, among others, Iftikhar Arif, Abbas Tabish and Wasi Shah. Those who are representing the poets’ community overseas include eminent poets such as Shahida Hasan, Tasnim Abidi and Khalid Irfan. From Karachi, the list of participants contains renowned names like Prof Sahar Ansari, Anwar Shaoor and Dr Pirzada Qasim. Rizwan Siddiqui said the mushaira is Karachi’s main literary identity. Jamal Azhar talked about the use of social media for the programme. KPC President Fazil Jamili lauded the efforts of the organisers and pointed out that since 2016, the absence of Indian poets from the mushaira has taken away a significant flavour. Prof Ejaz Faruqi said he’s been part of the mushaira team for the last 20 years. Dr Pirzada Qasim said the Sakinan mushaira is the biggest mushaira held in Pakistan. Its marked feature is that it complies with the high traditional values. Those who come to recite their poetry keep in mind that they’re reading their poems in front of a discerning audience, so they try and maintain a certain quality of poetry. He also spoke about the history of mushairas in Pakistan, with the special mention of the musha­iras that Dawn used to organise dec­ades ago. They were so popular that they were known as Azeemud Dawn mushairas, he added. Earlier in the day, the organisers of the annual event met with Commissioner Syed Hasan Naqvi, who praised their efforts, arguing that the event helps build the positive image of the city.