Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar inaugurated Pakistan’s largest three-day book fair at the Punjab University New Campus on Thursday. He visited various stalls, inspected the display and purchased several books.
Punjab University Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Ali and a large number of faculty members and students were also present on this occasion. The book fair featured more than 114 stalls set up by renowned publishers from across the country, alongside innovative student-led start-ups.
Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar expressed his surprise at the scale of the event and said that he had not expected the book fair to be so vibrant and extensive. He appreciated the initiative to promote student start-ups at the book fair, saying he was pleased to see young students showcasing their innovative ideas.
Highlighting the challenges posed by increasing dependence on digital technology, Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar said that artificial intelligence offered benefits as well as potential disadvantages. “People could not maintain sustained attention on a single thing while using screens, whereas reading books allowed them to concentrate continuously”.
Punjab Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar said that the younger generation’s growing distance from books could create problems for them. “Activities such as the book fair would help address the challenges posed by digital technology”.
University officials, on this occasion provided the honorable provincial minister a detailed briefing about the book fair. They told that the books are being offered at discounted prices to encourage reading among students and visitors.
According to the briefing, 175,000 books were sold at last year’s book fair, reflecting considerable public interest in the event and the event remains open to visitors from 9am to 8pm daily.