Pakistan English Conference 2025
Keynote Speakers PEC
Professor Shaista Sonnu Sirajuddin
Professor Shaista Sonnu Sirajuddin is a Professor of literature in English and retired from the Punjab
University as Head of the Department of English and Dean of Humanities. While her specialisation is
twentieth century drama, her interests over the years have included post-colonial poetry and drama,
sub-continental history, travel writing and non-fictive work on nature and ecology. She is an animal carer
and lives in Lahore.
Prof. Navid Shahzad
Prof. Navid Shahzad is Professor Emeritus Performing Arts, Academic Advisor Lahore Grammar School Resource
Center, Author, Actor, Director. Recipient of Pride of Performance and Fatima Jinnah Award for Literature
and Performing Arts. She also served as the dean of house of liberal in Beaconhouse National University,
where she set up the first theater, film and television department of the country.
Prof. Dr. Waseem Anwar
Dr. Waseem Anwar is Professor of English and Director ICPWE (International Centre for Pakistani Writing in
English, https://icpwe.kinnaird.edu.pk/ )at Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore. He has been at FCC and GC
universities in the capacity of Dean (Humanities) and Chair (English). Recipient of Fulbright award twice,
for doctoral studies in 1995 and as Visiting Scholar in 2007, Dr. Anwar served as the President of the
Pak-US Alumni Network (PUAN) and Fulbright Alumni Association. A Gale Group American Scholar, he also
received the Punjab Education Department “Salam Teacher Award – 2004” and Pakistan Higher Education
Commission “Best Teacher Award – 2003.” He is a Lifetime Member of the South Asian Literary Association
(SALA), USA, and has been on its Executive Committee for three times. Apart from being on the Advisory and
Editorial Boards of several renowned research journals, and publishing scores of articles, his credit
includes books, “Black” Women’s Dramatic Discourse (2009), the South Asian Review (SAR 2010 - special issue
on Pakistani creative writing in English), and very lately Transcultural Humanities in South Asia (Routledge
UK, 2022,
https://www.routledge.com/Transcultural-Humanities-in-South-Asia-Critical-Essays-on-Literature-and/Anwar/p/book/9780367483715
). He is also the founding Editor in Chief of the journal of English studies, JELLS at FCC university.
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Safeer Awan
Dr. Muhammad Safeer Awan is Pro-Rector (Research and Strategic Initiatives) at the National University of
Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad, where he has also served as Pro-Rector Academics, Dean of Arts and
Humanities, and Dean of Languages. He earned his PhD in English Studies from NUML and completed his
postdoctoral research at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, USA, focusing on postcolonial
identity and cultural representation. His academic expertise lies in postcolonial literature, transcultural
humanities, trauma studies, and the intersections of language, culture, and power.
Dr. Awan has supervised 35 PhD dissertations and more than 100 MPhil theses, nurturing critical scholarship
in literature, linguistics, and cultural studies. He has published extensively in national and international
journals on themes such as colonial and postcolonial discourse, hybridity, Islamic postfeminism, memory
studies, and the politics of representation in South Asian and global contexts. As Chief Editor of Journal
of Critical Inquiry (NUML) and other editorial roles, he has contributed significantly to academic
publishing.
Beyond academia, Dr. Awan has worked with international organizations, including USEFP, UNDP, and RELO, in
projects on education, language, and cultural engagement.
Dr. Awan's translations of Urdu literature into English are instrumental is projecting Pakistani literature
on global cultural landscape. His contributions continue to bridge scholarship, pedagogy, and transcultural
dialogue, positioning him as a leading voice in Pakistan’s literary and intellectual landscape.