KARACHI: Caretaker Chief Minister Sindh former Justice Maqbool Baqar on Thursday said that the Sindh government will approach the federal government to reduce the duty on imported paper to reduce its prices.

"Books create awareness among people and leads to mental empowerment. The books play an important role in shaping the society, so its importance cannot be ignored" the CM said this while addressing the opening ceremony of the 18th Karachi International Book Fair at the Karachi Expo Centre.

Regarding the hikes in book prices due to the increase in import duty, the caretaker chief minister of Sindh said the duty on imported paper is a federal matter. He assured to do his best and approach the federal government for reduction in paper prices.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chairman of Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers Association Aziz Khalid said that the book fair is being held continuously since 2005. The culture of literature is coming back through the book fair, he added.

He said books are still the source of knowledge in small villages. He said that due to the extraordinary increase in paper prices, books have become very expensive. He said that local factories that make paper are also unable to meet the requirements. He requested the Chief Minister of Sindh to take up the matter with the federal government.

MQM-Pakistan leader and Senator Faisal Subzwari said that he was well aware of publishers' issues due to the increase in paper prices.

He suggested that instead of relying on imported paper, local paper industries should be promoted so that the country's economy also develops and publishers can get paper at low cost.

He said that according to an estimate, there are 95 percent of people in our country who have not read any book except their curriculum.

He was of the view that proximity to books is very important and there must be healthy arguments and dialogues. "We should promote interest in extra-curricular books apart from the curriculum,"

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023