Brig (R) Prof. Dr. Muhammad Younus Javed SI (M), Vice Chancellor Mirpur University of Science and Technology MUST, Mirpur AJ&K graced the first-ever English Literary Festival organised by the Department of English with the assistance of English Literary Society (ELS) under the leadership of Dr. Sehrish Shafi, Coordinator Department of English on Thursday, February 06, 2025 at Mechanical Hall of the City Campus. Upon his arrival at the event Dr. Sehrish Shafi along with Mr. Tamoor Akbar, Additional Registrar, Faculty Members & Students received the Vice Chancellor Mirpur University. Iman Aziz, President, English Literary Society took the lead in the event alongside other comperes. In her opening statement she introduced the audience to the Literary Festival.

The event commenced with a beautiful recitation by Muneeb-ur-Rahman, 5th-semester and afterwards the literary journey began with the play by the famous dramatist Christopher Marlowe “Dr. Faustus”. This tale of a genius scientist who, in his greed, makes a pact with the devil and is eventually dragged to hell in exchange for a few years of glory was vividly presented. The entire cast was from the 5th Semester and they demonstrated how literature can be creatively presented on stage. The second drama featured a performance of the movie “Haider” inspired by Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet,” which depicted the tale of Kashmir. First-semester students delivered exceptional performances in this production. The third performance was by a 7th-semester student who beautifully sang “Saif-ul-Malook” by Mian Muhammad Baksh. Next, the iconic Punjabi play “Heer Ranjha” by Waris Shah was beautifully performed in Punjabi, demonstrating how such tragic stories are part of our rich history. The final performance was about the Pashtoon folktale “Yousaf Khan & SherBano” a beautiful yet a tragic tale which was followed by a cultural performance from Gilgiti students.

Ms. Asma Kaleem, coordinator, English Literary Society (ELS) thanked respected Vice Chancellor for his immense support which enables English Department to creatively challenge students. Dr. Sehrish Shafi, Coordinator Department of English explained that the goal of this semester’s festival was to show students that literature is an important part of our culture & history, not just in English, but in all languages. She expressed her gratitude to her team, ELS & especially Brigadier Younus Javed, VC MUST for his all-out support for the Department. Brigadier Younus Javed commended Dr. Sehrish calling her the captain of the ship that rose with creativity and excellence & lauded her professionalism and outstanding efforts in guiding the department to such success. He highlighted that despite the department being only two years old, it has already exceeded his expectations. He also encouraged other departments to learn from the English Department, as the event captivated him from the start. The function concluded with the distribution of certificates and group photos with participants. Later Vice Chancellor visited the stalls set up by the English Department which included books, sweets, food items, paintings & resin art.