Pakistan Literary Festival Defies Violence

Mar 3, 2015

The Lahore Literary Festival, which took place February 20-22 at the Alhamra Cultural Complex in Lahore, Pakistan, attracted thousands of attendees in spite of a series of deadly bombings and VIP cancellations that had threatened to shut down the event. Several leading foreign authors had dropped out of the festival just days after a bombing in the north western city of Peshawar, as did some ambassadors. Yet as the Voice of America reported, many attendees felt that the festival was a necessary opportunity to engage in free and open dialogue in a country that has become increasingly radicalized and terrorized by extremists.

As this video reveals, the Lahore Literary Festival celebrated art and literature, and in the process, enabled Pakistanis to engage in a meaningful conversation about tolerance, politics and national ideology.