New York-based event was broadcast globally via a live webcast.
The Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) concluded its New York City edition on May 8 with audiences and panelists hailing it as the “ultimate use” of Pakistan’s soft power.
The two-day event, which commenced on May 7 and was ticketed at $20 to $25, sold out in April and was broadcast globally via a live webcast. The festival featured packed rooms of both Pakistani and American audiences and marks the first time a Pakistani literary festival has taken place abroad.
Part of a three-year partnership with Asia Society, the privately-funded event included live performances by Pakistani musicians and panels on the often-contentious Pakistan-U.S. relationship and Pakistani literature and art.
Driving to New York City for #LLFNYC2016. Hoping the traffic will be kind, for once.
— Tasneem Zehra Husain (@tasneemzhusain) May 7, 2016
Feeling the excitement. At Asia Society in New York #LLFNYC2016 https://t.co/hqAKEDHLkM
— aneela shah (@eela5) May 7, 2016
WATCH NOW: Lahore Literary Festival NY's opening performance by Pakistani pop star Zeb Bangash https://t.co/4tkPi94jUA #LLFNYC2016
— Asia Society (@AsiaSociety) May 7, 2016
#LLFNYC2016 kicks off @AsiaSocietyNY #Lahore #Pakistan #NewYork pic.twitter.com/OWQFF9UoCW
— Sahar Said (@sahar_said) May 7, 2016
#LLFNYC2016 @AsiaSocietyNY Zeb Bangash performing live pic.twitter.com/QqGdnSBxSc
— Sahar Said (@sahar_said) May 7, 2016
From KHI to NYC with @SadaffeAbid to attend #LLFNYC2016. Excited at exhibition of rich culture abroad. @AsiaSociety https://t.co/Si7ju7YCY1
— Malik Ahmad Jalal (@AhmadJalal_1) May 8, 2016
https://twitter.com/bapsisid/status/729314973097308160
"Lahore has arrived in NY" @LodhiMaleeha @AsiaSocietyNY #LLFNYC2016 follow #AsiaLive pic.twitter.com/dFXUPYwrDk
— Sahar Said (@sahar_said) May 8, 2016
1st panel at #llfnyc2016 w Bapsi Sidhwa(Skype) @bilaltanweer @tasneemzhusain @rafiazakaria &Hugh Eakin @AsiaSociety pic.twitter.com/dz8OWtahXh
— Raza Ahmad Rumi (@Razarumi) May 8, 2016
Amb Robin Raphel at the #LLFNYC2016 #Lahore #pakistan pic.twitter.com/51nMatFfiJ
— LLF (@lhrlitfest) May 8, 2016
.@rafiazakaria: framing feminism as rebellion leaves out stories of feminism as resilience #LLFNYC2016
— Dr. Shenila Khoja-Moolji (@SKhojaMoolji) May 8, 2016
.@tasneemzhusain: ethnic writing seems to have become an imperative for those who are not from the mainstream. #LLFNYC2016
— Dr. Shenila Khoja-Moolji (@SKhojaMoolji) May 8, 2016
Sara suleri given life time award from #llfnyc2016 dr Azra reza accepts it. pic.twitter.com/sIMTyqd1zp
— Nilofer Afridi Qazi (@ninoqazi) May 8, 2016
Earlier @razi_ahmed_ gave a thoughtful overview of #LLFNYC2016~thrilled Sara Suleri given lifetime achievement award pic.twitter.com/Ry78XFpWem
— Raza Ahmad Rumi (@Razarumi) May 8, 2016
Kudos for a rare All Women's Panel @AsiaSociety #LLFNYC2016 #happeningnow #ElevatePak pic.twitter.com/lnDFMZeocH
— Malik Ahmad Jalal (@AhmadJalal_1) May 8, 2016
Couldn't be in New York because of finals, but thanking the lord for @AsiaSocietyNY's live webcast of #LLFNYC2016 pic.twitter.com/DfXkEHucMV
— Adnan Siddiqi (@adnansiddiqi) May 8, 2016
Day 2 of #LLFNYC2016 in full throttle. Excited for our contemporary art panel at 2:30pm! https://t.co/rzOE9I9Sos @AsiaSociety @lhrlitfest
— سسس (@sa3deyya) May 8, 2016
#llfnyc2016 translators of Urdu literature I am so grateful. I would have never had any insight to the incredible opus of our literature
— Nilofer Afridi Qazi (@ninoqazi) May 8, 2016
We need Ismat Chughtai but who is reading Ismat? @AsiaSociety #LLFNYC2016 #ElevatePak pic.twitter.com/QOie7N2xjT
— Sadaffe Abid (@SadaffeAbid) May 8, 2016
Dr Arfa Zehra's remarks are such a treat "Agar Lahore sar ke bal chal ke New York aaya toh kamaskam Urdu toh sar utha ke chalay" #LLFNYC2016
— Tasneem Zehra Husain (@tasneemzhusain) May 8, 2016
#LLFNYC2016 Arifa Syeda on Manto @LodhiMaleeha @razi_ahmed_ @NusratJamil pic.twitter.com/PCk8JKSvGR
— aneela shah (@eela5) May 8, 2016
Dr Arfa Syeda Zehra brought the entire audience to their feet in a standing ovation for Urdu poetry. Blown away. #LLFNYC2016 @AsiaSocietyNY
— Tasneem Zehra Husain (@tasneemzhusain) May 8, 2016
Arfa Sayeda from Lahore receives standing ovation! Brilliant, moving talk! @AsiaSocietyNY #ElevatePak #LLFNYC2016 pic.twitter.com/8B6eEWywHe
— Sadaffe Abid (@SadaffeAbid) May 8, 2016
Proud to be a student of Dr Arfa Zehra who received a standing ovation on her talk about Manto at the #LLFNYC2016 pic.twitter.com/qjPlqaY8Hb
— Hina R Khar (@HinaRKhar) May 8, 2016
Moment of silence observed for slain activist Khurram Zaki at #LLFNYC2016
— fasih (@therealfasih) May 8, 2016
https://twitter.com/bilaltanweer/status/729352769044353024
#LLFNYC2016 Stephen Cohen session :The Promise of Pakistan @LodhiMaleeha @razi_ahmed_ @najamsethi @jerryshah pic.twitter.com/Rq1Irmt7HA
— aneela shah (@eela5) May 8, 2016
https://twitter.com/SKhojaMoolji/status/729353928303910913
#LLFNYC2016 #Pakistan is perpetually at the crossroads; time to move ahead on the path Jinna envisioned @Razarumi pic.twitter.com/t7eOLBCIjU
— C.A.カンロイ (@CarmelaConroy) May 8, 2016
Finally!Cohen says usa has really only engaged with Pak army. Ignored civilians. #LLFNYC2016 (I said this decade ago to him) he didn't agree
— Nilofer Afridi Qazi (@ninoqazi) May 8, 2016
State's responsibility is 2 deliver effectively services to citizens n not make itself an important player @HinaRKhar @Razarumi #LLFNYC2016
— Malik Ahmad Jalal (@AhmadJalal_1) May 8, 2016
.@sepoy the responsibility we hv as citizens of #Pakistan is to ensure that everyone’s voices are heard incl Shia/Ahmedi/Baloch #LLFNYC2016
— Dr. Shenila Khoja-Moolji (@SKhojaMoolji) May 8, 2016
Front row @ Lahore Literary Festival for the next panel on contemporary art from #Pakistan @AsiaSociety #LLFNYC2016 pic.twitter.com/pRNMYM3jrV
— amna (@IAmAmnaNawaz) May 8, 2016
#salimahashmi #art #LLFNYC2016 #aminjaffar #theeyestillseeks pic.twitter.com/AMSqZIIISF
— Nilofer Afridi Qazi (@ninoqazi) May 8, 2016
Great session on art with Salima Hashmi and Salman Toor pic.twitter.com/QucD1CwV0Q
— Maleeha Lodhi (@LodhiMaleeha) May 8, 2016
https://twitter.com/NatsMahmud/status/729385856239292416
"My early investments were in journalism" – Syed Babar Ali talking about the first $47 he made. @AsiaSocietyNY #LLFNYC2016
— Sahar Said (@sahar_said) May 8, 2016
Educating Pakistan with Syed Babar Ali and @Nawazistan @AsiaSocietyNY #LLFNYC2016 pic.twitter.com/glYskql40A
— Sahar Said (@sahar_said) May 8, 2016
'The yellow train, the red bus, the F-16s won't take you anywhere unless there is education.' Syed Babar Ali at #LLFNYC2016
— fasih (@therealfasih) May 8, 2016
Roger Cohen in conversation with Ahmed Rashid and Kati Marton. US-Pakistan relations. #LLFNYC2016 pic.twitter.com/BMm3zoYvhS
— amna (@IAmAmnaNawaz) May 8, 2016
'The presence of LLF in New York is the most effective use of soft power,' says @katimarton #LLFNYC2016
— fasih (@therealfasih) May 8, 2016
Q: would you count pakistan as foreign policy failure of Obama administration?
Kati Marton: yes.#LLFNYC2016— amna (@IAmAmnaNawaz) May 8, 2016
@sadiashepard and Sarmad Khoosat sharing their art @AsiaSocietyNY #LLFNYC2016 pic.twitter.com/NzJkOJivfz
— Sahar Said (@sahar_said) May 8, 2016
Lahore, Kites, and Popular Culture #LLFNYC2016 fabulous energy pic.twitter.com/nQDhWSsAOW
— LLF (@lhrlitfest) May 8, 2016
Enjoying the multi-lingual Urdu and English Popular Culture Panel #LLFNYC2016 pic.twitter.com/Am9BK2giI5
— سسس (@sa3deyya) May 8, 2016
@AsiaSocietyNY @lhrlitfest thank you so much for having this on web telecast! I abs loved the panels esp the one on #Urdu binding Sth Asia
— Priyanka Sabarwal (@priyankasabarwa) May 9, 2016
https://twitter.com/jcmachad/status/729439379312259072
Sami Brothers close off the #LLFNYC2016 @AsiaSocietyNY pic.twitter.com/nPHVbUFo72
— Sahar Said (@sahar_said) May 9, 2016