KARACHI: The five-day 19th Karachi International Book Fair at the city's Expo Karachi concluded successfully on Monday.

The event attracted over 550,000 visitors, including students, scholars, and book lovers from Pakistan and abroad. The 19th KIBF featured 330 stalls from 40 institutions of 17 countries. Publishers offered discounts of up to 70 percent on the last day. The Turkish stall distributed free books, drawing a large crowd. Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori announced the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz award for the fair's Convener, Waqar Mateen.

The event also featured book launches, author meet-and-greets, and poetry recitals. The fair witnessed a significant increase in attendance and sales. Publishers reported selling a record number of books, with many stalls running out of stock. Visitors demanded more book fairs in Karachi and other Sindh cities. Commissioner Karachi Syed Hasan Naqvi attended the closing ceremony, praising the organisers and Convener Waqar Mateen for their efforts. Coordinator Taha Jamal and Sheikh Alamgir Yousuf were also honored with bouquets for their services. Addressing the ceremony, Convener Waqar Mateen said that all records of public attendance were broken this year. He announced that future book fairs would include cultural and poetry programs, as well as dialogues between authors.

The fair was inaugurated by Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah, with Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah, Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab, and former Information Minister and Arts Council Pakistan President Ahmed Shah also in attendance. Visitors purchased books on history, novels, travelogues, and children's stories, comics, and textbooks. To facilitate visitors, private banks provided ATM services, and strict security arrangements were made around the Expo Centre. Senior journalist and renowned poet AH Khanzada's book "Ishq-e-Aqeeda" was launched, along with 10 other authors' books. Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers Association Chairman Aziz Khalid, KIBF Convener Waqar Mateen, Deputy Convener Syed Nasir Hussain, Secretary Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers Association Taha Jamal, Coordinator Sheikh Alamgir Yousuf, Floor Head Nadeem Akhta, Media Coordinator Abid Zubair and other members thanked visitors from Karachi, Sindh, and other parts of the country for participating in the fair. They noted that the large turnout of students, scholars, and citizens had boosted their morale and demonstrated the love for books. The convener of the 19th KIBF, Waqar Mateen, said that all previous records of participation of citizens and students have been broken. "I am grateful to the citizens of Karachi for this reception and congratulate them," he added.

Publishers participating in the 19th KIBF said that like every year, this year too, record books have been sold and the stocks have run out. The five-day book fair, which was held from December 12 to December 16, continued to attract political, social and government figures. Governor Sindh Kamran Tesori, Federal Minister for Education Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Commissioner Syed Ehsan Naqvi, writer and poet Fatima Hassan, writer and poet Sahar Ansari, Consulate General of Russia and Director of Russian House, Chairman Federation of Private Schools Muhammad Aleem Qureshi, Chairman Pakistan Private Schools Anwar Ali Bhatti, Private School Management Association head Tariq, writer Qazi Asad Abid, Founding Member and President Pakistan Academic Consortium Nasir Zaidi, Managing Director Academy Sindh Saad Bin Aziz, member Literary Contribution Urdu Farasat Rizvi, Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Munam Zafar, Additional Director of Directorate of Inspection and Registration Institution Rafia Javed, SSP East Dr. Farrukh Raza attended the event.

The others who paid visit to the 19th KIBF included DSP East Headquarters Manzoor Shah, Jinnah Town Chairman Rizwan Abdul Sami, Chairman Gulshan-e-Iqbal Dr. Fawad Ahmed, Vice Chairman Gulshan Iqbal UC 8 Asif Abdul Karim, and diplomats from other countries, representatives of schools organisations and figures from literary, academic, social, government and religious sectors. The citizens participating in the 19th KIBF demanded that such an event should be held twice a year and that the be extended to other cities of Sindh besides Karachi.