KARACHI: The 19th Karachi International Book Fair (KIBF) kicked off at Expo Centre on Thursday afternoon. President of the Arts Council of Pakistan, Ahmed Shah, was the keynote speaker of the inaugural ceremony. He began by talking about the importance of dreams in life, quoting two Urdu couplets, one of which was: Khwab mein jo kuch dekh raha hun us ka dikhana mushkil hai Aa’iney mein phool khula hai, hath lagana mushkil hai [What I’m dreaming about is hard to put in words A flower has blossomed in the mirror, can’t touch it] He said two decades back one could not think about having cultural activities in Karachi because of the city’s volatile situation. There was hatred and ethnic violence in Karachi when the council started its International Urdu Conference. It brought together writers like Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi, Sahar Ansari, Amar Jalil and Sobhu Gianchandani. “We included literature of Sindhi, Saraeki and Balochi languages because no federal or provincial body was working for such a cause. Efforts were being made to weaken Pakistan’s federation. There were fault-lines. To overcome that, the soft power of culture was needed.” Mr Shah said one requires a certain kind of passion (pagal pann) to cross barriers. “What was our passion? The world used to think of us as uncivilised. [They’re wrong.] Our country is standing on the following civilisations: Moenjo Daro, Mehrgarh, Harappa and Taxila.” He added, all over the world, culture and trade go in hand in hand. Provincial Minister for Education Syed Sardar Ali Shah was the guest of honor. He lauded the consistency with which the organisers of the book fair have been arranging it on an annual basis. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah was the chief guest on the occasion. He said those who want to cast an evil eye in Karachi’s direction (nazar laganey waley) should see that the city has hosted big events like the World Culture Festival, the Urdu conference and the book fair in one month. He told the attendees that he likes reading books. “I buy them and sometime steal them.” He said he’d try and visit the fair later to get his hands on some books. KIBF chairman Aziz Khalid welcomed the guests and later convener Waqar Mateen delivered the vote of thanks. The day, however, began with a big number of people, a majority of which constituted of school children and college boys and girls, pouring into halls 1, 2 and 3 of the venue. Asif Iqbal and Mohammad Zubair of Sindh Government College, Liaquatabad (nursing college) were there, who, talking to Dawn, said they were looking for books on anatomy. They said it was their first time at the fair and they like it so much that they will come back. Two teachers of a local school were spotted with bagful of books. They had bought works of fiction (by authors such as J. K. Rowling, C. S. Lewis, Enid Blyton) for their school library. Organised by the Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers Association, the event will conclude on Dec 16.