LOWER DIR: A three-day book fair concluded at the University of Malakand main campus, here on Thursday.

The varsity’s directorate of students’ society, youth development centre, and National Book Foundation (NBF), Islamabad, organised the fair, which attracted the attention of hundreds of male and female students, teachers, and administrative personnel.

There was also a lively Pashto “Tappa” competition in which twenty students from different disciplines took part. The competition was won by Mr Nasimullah of the BS Pashto. Alongside the book fair, a Pashto mushaira (poetry session) was also planned. Professors Abaseen Yousafzai, Bakhtzada Danish, Iqbal Shakir, Maqsudur Rahman Eshrat, Saeed Ahmad, and Hameedul Haq Khaksar were present in the Pashto mushaira and Tappa competition.

The organisers claim that more than 50,000 books were on display and offered to students and other readers at a 50 per cent discount. They informed Dawn that the book fair had sold out of over 35,000 books, valued at over Rs 6 million, for half of the original price.

According to an NBF staffer, booksellers from Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi were invited and they displayed their works on religion, history, science, technology, art, and engineering. According to him, the NBF sold out books worth Rs 300,000 to visitors. One BS English literature student, Ms Aiman Shad, told Dawn that educational institutions should host these kinds of events more regularly. It was a fantastic event, she remarked, and it would encourage them to read more books.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Rashid Ahmad said that the literary activities and book fair demonstrated the dedication of university stakeholders to helping students develop their literary abilities and love of reading. He remarked that the varsity should keep up its literary endeavours.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2024