LAHORE: (Thursday, March 7, 2024): Speaker Punjab Assembly Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan has said that book fair is important to promote literacy and bring positive changes in society. He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of Pakistan’s largest three-day book fair organized by the Punjab University administration at the corridor of the Institute of Education and Research.

PU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Khalid Mahmood, Dr Saeed Elahi, Dean NIPA Naveed Elahi, Jamaat-e-Islami General Secretary Ameerul-Azeem, senior leader Fareed Piracha, religious scholar Nighat Hashmi, eminent columnists, journalists, lawyers, doctors, writers, poets, thousands of teachers and students from schools, colleges and other universities and people from all walks of life participated on the first day of book fair.

Talking to the media, Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan said that the book fair of Punjab University used to be a regular event. He said that after a long gap, it is a proud moment for him to inaugurate the book fair in PU. He said that Dr Mahmood deserves appreciation for the organizing the book fair after a gap of many years. He also visited various stalls at the PU Book Fair.

PU VC Prof Dr Khalid Mahmood said that the current era is of knowledge economy. He said that all developed nations are connected with the books. He said that all the sovereign nations had the biggest libraries. He said that promoting book culture is the most important need of the hour in order to prevent division in the nation and promote culture of tolerance. He said that in the three-day book fair organized by PU, a fewer fees were charged from the publishers so that books could be provided on maximum discount. He said that more than 140 national and international publishers have set up their stalls in the book fair. He said that the book fair will continue till March 9 from 9am to 8pm.

He invited all the citizens to participate in the book fair. Thousands of citizens participated on the first day of the book fair and it was indeed a grand fair. The participants of the fair took full advantage of maximum discounts on books. In their comments, the participants said that the efforts of the Punjab University administration are commendable, who took the initiative to attract the youth towards books in the digital era. In the book fair, they have got around 50% discounts on a large number of books.

They said that they have got the opportunity to get their favorite books at the lowest prices under one roof, which will surely promote reading habits in the society. Meanwhile, former Vice Chancellor of Allama Iqbal Open University Prof Dr Shahid Siddiqui’s four books were launched at IER’s Waheed Shaheed Hall. The ceremony was attended by PU VC Prof Dr Khalid Mahmood, Principal Oriental College Prof Dr Nabila Rehman, faculty members and students. The speakers commended organizing the book launching ceremony in connection with the book fair.