TAXILA: Poets, writers, intellectuals and storytellers assembled at the municipal committee’s lawn in Attock to participate in third annual book fair organised by the district administration, in collaboration with publishers.

While addressing the inaugural ceremony, Deputy Commissioner Attock Rao Atif Raza said the district administration had taken various steps to revive the habit of book reading among the public in a bid to continue maintaining a connection with the past.

Mr Raza stated that it would not be wrong to mention that books and literature played a key role in grooming an individual to become more responsible citizen and promoting tolerance in society.

With the introduction of social media, most of the people have given up reading, so there was a dire need to inculcate this habit among the younger generation so they could learn about history, he added.

While addressing the event, Assistant Commissioner Shagufta Jabeen said: “We do not organise the fair to sell books, but to revive the dying culture of reading among the young generation, especially students, who are considered future of the country.

“It is high time that students should make book reading a part of their lives,” remarked Comsats Attock Director Dr Junaid Mughal, while addressing the event.

He added that there should be no doubt that books opened new doors of success for their readers, allowing them to explore new ideas.

Speaking to the media, former chairman of the municipal committee, Malik Tahir Awan, said that holding a book fair was his idea and that students were given discounts on books. Also, this time, they were given opportunity to interact with the authors.

He said the book fair rendered a platform to purchase books, meet authors, and expand knowledge and understanding of the world and was a right step towards encouraging people to build up the habit of reading.

Talking to the reporter, students lauded efforts of the district administration for organising the book fair every year. A student of a local college, Sidra Hussain, said that despite the emergence of social media and the flooding of other sources of information, books were still a great source of inner enlightenment.

Dozens of stalls were arranged by different local and national publishers, and books and novels relating to poverty, fiction, Islamic literature, medicine, engineering, technology, and current affairs received an overwhelming response from students, teachers, and the general public.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2023