Remembering Faiz Ahmed Faiz at Faiz Festival Lahore

February 13 – 15, 2026

Faiz Festival Lahore 2026 brought together poetry, politics, performance, and public discourse in a powerful two-day celebration on February 14 and 15 — honoring the enduring legacy of Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

Across multiple halls and outdoor stages, the festival became a living testament to Faiz’s vision: art intertwined with resistance, dialogue rooted in courage, and culture shaped by compassion.

Saturday, 14th February – Dialogue, Dissent & Artistic Expression

Saturday opened with youthful energy as Lahore Grammar School (1A1 Branch) set the tone with a vibrant dance performance.

Throughout the day, conversations reflected contemporary challenges through a Faizian lens:

• Role of Social Media in Shaping Political Landscape

• Punjabi Satire – Mohammad Hanif in conversation with Umer Khan

• New Age Journalism

• Art in the Time of Violence

• Women Breaking the Glass Ceiling

Hall 1 hosted leading political voices including Farhatullah Babar, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Senator Ali Zafar, and Fouzia Shaheen, while Sohail Ahmad and Vasay Chaudhry brought humor and satire to the stage.

In Adbi Baithak, multiple book launches highlighted literary vibrancy — from Knife of the Tide and Stalemate to Hazara Cultural Heritage and The Three Princesses. Meanwhile, Hall 3 featured important discussions including Gen Z, Gen Alpha & Faiz, bridging the poet’s legacy with new generations.

The afternoon paid tribute to intellectual giants with Remembering Dr Arfa Sayeeda Zehra, while the Outdoor stage buzzed with theatre performances, Open Mic sessions, and the rhythmic pulse of the Quadrum Drum Circle.

The evening closed with music — Arshad Mahmood’s AM Group Musical Performance and Nighat Chaudhary’s dance performance — embodying Faiz’s belief that poetry must be lived, sung, and shared.

Sunday, 15th February – Legacy, Literature & Living Memory

Sunday began with another dance performance by Lahore Grammar School (JT), carrying forward the intergenerational spirit of the festival.

Key sessions explored Faiz’s intellectual and journalistic impact:

• Faiz and the Cultural Policy of Pakistan

• Faiz, Pakistan Times and Imroze

• Faiz – Ustad Daman Friendship

• Pablo Neruda, Faiz Ahmed Faiz

These discussions situated Faiz within global progressive traditions and Pakistan’s cultural history.

Hall 1 featured conversations with Naeem Bokhari and later Mazhar Abbas and Mushahid Hussain, while Hall 2 highlighted Reclaiming Lahore’s Living Traditions and a dance performance by Nighat Chaudhary.

Adbi Baithak remained a literary hub with launches including:

• Waiting in the Wings

• Ijaz ul Hassan – Poems

• Secrets: Stories of Psychiatry from America and Pakistan

• From the Beginning to Lahore’s Happening

• The Blessed Curse

Hall 4 offered a rich range of conversations, including Zehra Nigah in dialogue with Nasir Abbas Nayyar and a session with Momtaza Mehri.

The Outdoor stage once again brought theatre, Open Mic, and creative workshops to life — including puppetry and contemporary textile arts.

The festival concluded with a Closing Ceremony of poetry and music — a fitting tribute to a poet who believed that art must illuminate both beauty and struggle.

 

Please see full list of events below:

 

 

Saturday, 14th Feb 2026 – Event Schedule

Time	Hall 1	Hall 2	Hall 3	Adbi Baithak	Hall 4	Outdoor
10:30–11:30 am	Dance Performance – Lahore Grammar School (1A1 Branch)
12:00–12:45 pm	Role of Social Media in Shaping Political Landscape – Shehzad Ghias Shaikh, Faisal Warraich, Munizae Jahangir (Dr. Taimur Rehman)	Remembering Sufi Tabassum – Moeen Nizami, Kishwar Naheed, Salima Hashmi (Akhtar Viqar Azeem) – Performance by Nazir Ahmad Music Society-GCU	Women Breaking the Glass Ceiling – Tasneem Akhtar Jameel, Rakhshanda Naz, Khushnoor Didar (Dr. Nishat Riaz)	Book Launch: Knife of the Tide – Ilona Yusuf, Shehri Rashid, Mina Malik, Hassan Tahir	Book Launch: Stalemate – Minaa Haroon, Navid Shehzad, Osama Siddique	Sanjan Nagar School Performance
1:00–1:45 pm	Farhatullah Babar, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Senator Ali Zafar, Fouzia Shaheen (Syed Talat Hussain)	Standup: The New Genre – Shehzad Ghias Shaikh, Tabish Hashmi (Ali Afzal Saeed)	Syed Shamoon Hashmi, Yousuf Abraham (Sumera Khalil)	Book Launch: Hazara Cultural Heritage – Stephanie Grant, Amina Ali, Shakila Haidar (Moneeza Hashmi)	Book Launch – Qasim Jafri, Zehra Nigah, Nasir Abbas Nayyar
2:00–2:45 pm	Sohail Ahmad, Vasay Chaudhry (Tabish Hashmi)	Punjabi Satire – Mohammad Hanif in conversation with Umer Khan	Art in the Time of Violence – Adeela Suleman, Raheem ul Haque, Salima Hashmi	Book Launch – Dr Qazi Ali, Abbas Tabish, Najeeb Jamal, Asghar Nadeem Syed	Book Launch – Dr Hamid Attique Sarwar, Rehman Faris, Harris Khalique, Hameeda Shaheen	Open Mic
3:00–3:45 pm	Remembering Dr Arfa Sayeeda Zehra	Preparation Time	Aizaz Chaudhry, Ejaz Haider, Ms. Riffat Masood (Osama Siddique)	Gen Z, Gen Alpha & Faiz – Dr Anjum Altaf, Hijaz Naqvi (Lubna Khan)		Rafi Peer Theatre 3:00–3:45 pm; Quadrum’s Performance 3:00–3:45 pm
4:00–4:45 pm	Marina Khan, Asif Raza Mir, Mustafa Afridi, Atiqa Odho (Tauseeq Haider)	Faiz and Alys Letters – Recitation by Adeel Hashmi, Mira Hashmi	Book Launch – Rebel English Academy – Navid Shehzad, Mohammed Hanif (Mira Hashmi)	Book Launch – Qamar Abbas, Shahid Nadeem	10 Ways to Make Better Photographs – Malcolm Hutcheson (Photography Workshop)	Quadrum Drum Circle 3:45–4:30 pm
5:00–5:45 pm	New Age Journalism – Syed Talat Hussain, Wusat Ullah Khan, Asad Baig (Munizae Jahangir)	Yousuf Abraham, Iftikhar Arif, Zehra Nigah (Qasim Jafri)	Shahid Malik, Rabiyya Bajwa, Makhdoom Ali Khan (Uzair Bhandari)	Book Launch: The Three Princesses – Shehnaz Alijuddin, Mina Malik, Mehvish Amin		Musical Performance – A People’s History: Progressive Poetry & Music
6:00–7:00 pm	Preparation Time	Preparation Time	Preparation Time
7:00 pm onwards	Arshad Mahmood’s AM Group Musical Performance	Nighat Chaudhary Dance Performance

 

Sunday, 15th Feb 2026 – Event Schedule

Sunday, 15th Feb 2026 – Event Schedule

Time	Hall 1	Hall 2	Hall 3	Adbi Baithak	Hall 4	Outdoor
10:30–11:30 am	Dance Performance – Lahore Grammar School (JT)
12:00–12:45 pm	Book Launch: Waiting in the Wings – Harris Khalique, Samina Rehman, Salima Hashmi	Book Launch – Hammad Nasar, Kh. Saad Rafique, Suhail Warraich, Wajahat Masood, Fawad Hassan Fawad	Faiz and the Cultural Policy of Pakistan – Asad Gillani, Mehtab Akbar Rashdi, Kabir Ali (Amina Ali)	Book Launch: Ijaz ul Hassan – Poems – Prof. Shaista Sonnu Sirajuddin, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Prof. Zubair Ahmad	Zehra Nigah in conversation with Nasir Abbas Nayyar
1:00–1:45 pm	Naeem Bokhari in conversation with Adeel Hashmi	Adnan Jahangir – Dance Performance	Faiz, Pakistan Times and Imroze – Majid Sheikh, Mazhar Abbas, Nasir Zaidi, Farah Zia (Harris Khalique)	Book Launch: Secrets: Stories of Psychiatry from America and Pakistan – Ali Madeeh Hashmi, Prof. Dr. Asghar Naqvi, Dr. Ain-ul-Momina	Book Launch: Who Knows the Bound of Desire – Osama Siddique, Dr. Faisal Bari	Mohsin Faraz – 1:00–2:00 pm
2:00–2:45 pm	Iftikhar Arif, Zehra Nigah, Qasim Jafri (Syed Shamoon Hashmi)	Reclaiming Lahore’s Living Traditions – Azam Jamil, Kamran Lashari, Salman Rashid (Amina Ali)	Remembering Yasmeen Tahir – Ali Tahir, Shaukat Thanvi, Dr. Hassan Farooqi (Muhammad Ali)	Book Launch: From the Beginning to Lahore’s Happening – Ali Usman Qasmi, Majid Sheikh	A Conversation with Momtaza Mehri – Prof. Shaista Sonnu Sirajuddin, Ayesha Barque (Mina Malik)	Open Mic
3:00–3:45 pm	A conversation with Asif Raza Mir – Simi Raheal, Daniyal Raheel (Tauseeq Haider)	Pablo Neruda, Faiz Ahmed Faiz – Nazim Hikmat, Mehmud Darvaish, Harris Khalique, Ghazi Salahuddin (Osama Siddique)	Faiz – Ustad Daman Friendship – Sarwat Mohiuddin, Prof. Zubair Ahmad, Dr. Jawaz Jafri (Sumera Khalil)	Book Launch – Kishwar Naheed, Khawar Mumtaz, Sheeba Alam, Nasir Abbas Nayyar	Sara Hayat, Dr. Azizur Rab, Ali Habib, Amna Mufti (Gulzaib Waqas Awan)	Rafi Peer Theatre Performance; Quadrum’s Performance
4:00–4:45 pm	Mazhar Abbas, Mushahid Hussain (Hamid Mir)	Preparation Time	Pre-Partition Punjab’s Contribution to Cinema – Ishtiaq Ahmed, Tahir Kamran, Salima Hashmi (Mira Hashmi)	Book Launch: The Blessed Curse – Waseem Anwar, Bilal Tanweer, Mehvish Amin	Yamina Peerzada – Puppetry Workshop	Quadrum Drum Circle; Craft, Care and Repair in Contemporary Textiles – Naveen Hyder, Rohma M. Khan, Kiran Khan
5:00–5:45 pm	Preparation Time	Nighat Chaudhary – Dance Performance	Ain Adab Readings	Documenting the Undocumented: A Life Spent in Lahore – Asad Hayee, Malcolm Hutcheson
6:30–7:30 pm	Closing Ceremony – Poetry & Music	Closing Ceremony – Poetry & Music