The 19th Karachi International Book Fair (KIBF) began at the city’s expo centre on Thursday, with over 330 stalls set up to cater for visitors from all walks of life.

“I enjoy buying books and sometimes I borrow them from friends without returning them,” Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said at the inaugural ceremony at the Expo Centre. “The pleasure of flipping through the pages of a book is unmatched by anything else.”

The provincial education minister and the Karachi mayor accompanied him at the event. The event is being organised at halls 1, 2 and 3.

The five-day book fair features over 330 stalls, drawing significant crowds of both children and adults. The event includes participation from 40 organizations across 17 countries, showcasing books from Pakistan, India, Turkey, Singapore, China, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.

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The event will continue till December 16.

At the event, Sindh Education Minister Sardar Ali Shah praised the book fair, highlighting that the decline of Muslims began when “the great scientist Al-Ghazali was blinded after repeatedly being hit by books on the head.”