A photo with a statement attributed to actor Khalid Inam has gone viral on social media regarding the Lahore International Book Fair (LIBF), prompting many users to worry about the country’s reading culture and eating habits.

The image has been shared with claims that the book fair has transformed into a food festival, with attendees purchasing more food items than books. It was alleged that only 35 books were sold, while 1,200 shawarmas and 800 biryanis were bought.

This viral image and statement have not only been circulated by various social media users but have also drawn comments from some politicians.

Even an Indian media outlet, Hindustan Times, could not resist making news out of the viral post.

In an interview with BBC Urdu, Inam rejected the statistics presented in the viral content.

He elaborated that a couple of days ago, he mistakenly posted a humorous comment on social media after translating an English post into Urdu without verifying its authenticity. Within an hour, his post went viral without any confirmation.

Inam further explained that he deleted his status just an hour after posting it, but by then, it had already spread widely without verification.

In a social media post, the Gentleman actor apologised for sharing unverified information regarding the Lahore International Book Fair.

“It is very unfortunate, and I sincerely apologise for sharing such information without verification. Although I shared it as a joke, it has harmed the reputation of the country’s people and cities,” he said.

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But may be Defence Minister Khawaja Asif was not aware of the development, so he took the viral comment seriously and said: “The chances of the brain winning over the stomach are low. Besides, we are not in the habit of using our brains much.”

In reaction, the book fair organisers reminded the minister that it was the “oldest book fair” in Pakistan and even Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was one of their visitors in the past.

The LIBF invited the minister to the event in 2025.