The fifth Islamabad Literary Festival (ILF) is set to begin on Friday to celebrate and analyse 70 years of literature in Pakistan, the media reported on Thursday.

Oxford University Press Managing Director Ameena Saiyid said the ILF was about celebrating writers, poets, reading culture and interacting with the international community.

She promised that the sessions over three days would be "interactive and interesting", Dawn online reported.

"ILF aims to provide a forum for local and international writers and readers to interact, exchange ideas and engage in dialogue, debates and readings," she said.

The festival will see 50 sessions and seven book launches. Literature in English, Urdu, Hindi, French, German, Punjabi and Pashtu will be featured.

Some 150 speakers will be taking part in the festival, 141 of whom are Pakistani and nine foreigners, Dawn said. They include Amardeep Singh and A.G. Noorani from India.