For publishers, the message is clear: Pakistan’s 220-million-strong readership is increasingly accessible through multiple, strategically distinct platforms.
Pakistan’s publishing sector demonstrates renewed vitality through two landmark events: the record-breaking Karachi World Book Fair and Punjab University’s expanding academic showcase.
For publishing professionals monitoring South Asian markets, these developments reveal both commercial opportunity and evolving distribution channels.
Karachi World Book Fair: Pakistan’s Premier Showcase
The five-day Karachi World Book Fair (KWBF) concluded on 22 December 2025 at the Expo Centre, cementing its status as Pakistan’s largest literary event.
Organised by the Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers Association (PPBA), the fair attracted over 550,000 visitors across 329 stalls, with participation from 140 domestic publishers and 40 international exhibitors representing 17 countries including Turkey, China, and the UK.
The 2025 edition marked a significant rebrand from “International” to “World” Book Fair, signalling ambitions to rival regional counterparts like New Delhi’s event.
Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah inaugurated the fair, emphasising the link between book accessibility and creative development while urging federal reduction of paper taxes – a critical concern for industry profitability.
Beyond sales, the fair facilitated rights negotiations, co-publishing discussions, and author-publisher networking. Special children’s programmes, literary sessions, and planned expansion to Hyderabad, Larkana, and Sukkur demonstrate systemic efforts to build a nationwide reading ecosystem.
Punjab University’s Academic Hub
Complementing Karachi’s commercial focus, Punjab University (PU) is hosting Pakistan’s largest three-day book fair from 29–31 January 2026 at its New Campus. Following Vice-Chancellor Dr Muhammad Ali’s approval, a committee led by Pro-Vice-Chancellor Dr Khalid Mahmood aims to surpass the February 2025 edition, which sold 175,000 books.
The PU fair specifically targets students, researchers, and academics, providing concentrated access to scholarly and general titles under one roof. While smaller in duration than Karachi’s event, its focused academic audience offers publishers a direct channel to institutional buyers and the next generation of readers.
The View From The Beach
These tandem events reveal a segmented but growing market. Karachi delivers mass-market reach and international visibility; Punjab University provides academic depth. Both face the shared challenge of paper taxation, which industry leaders identify as a barrier to affordability and growth.
For publishers, the message is clear: Pakistan’s 220-million-strong readership is increasingly accessible through multiple, strategically distinct platforms.
This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsfeed.
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