Overview
- Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori inaugurated the 18th edition at the Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi.
- The opening featured Quran recitation, the national anthem, a conference showreel, and cake cuttings marking Jinnah's birthday and Christmas.
- Arts Council President Ahmed Shah delivered the welcome while critic Nasir Abbas Nayyar's keynote urged wider global engagement and addressed AI, climate change and the post‑truth era.
- A panel titled "Jinnah and Today's Pakistan" examined the country's founding, the fall of Dhaka, and its past, present and future.
- Day one ended with a Sindhi poetry recital, with upcoming sessions slated on Sindhi, Punjabi, Pashtun and Baloch literatures through December 28.