ISLAMABAD: Authorities in Pakistan’s Punjab province have given seven working days to dozens of educational book publishers to withdraw their publications from the market or face criminal charges for circulating material that contains “factual mistakes,” a top government official said on Saturday.
The Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB) on Thursday banned 100 textbooks of 31 publishers from being used in private schools of the province, citing cultural and religious sensitivities in their content. If the publishers fail to comply with the board’s directions, they may face two years in prison.
“We have given the publishers seven days to withdraw their stock from the market, otherwise we will lodge criminal cases against them as per the law,” PCTB managing director Rai Manzoor Hussain Nasir told Arab News.
He said some of the banned books contain “factual mistakes regarding Pakistan’s map, and the dates of birth and death of the country’s founding fathers.”
“We have found some textbooks with inaccurate translations of Qur’anic verses,” he said, adding that the board is likely to ban more books as its staff are currently examining 10,000 publications.
The PCTB is a provincial regulator that reviews the content of textbooks, manuscripts and supplementary reading material and issues clearance for its publication.
The publishers whose books have been banned include Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Paragon Books and Ameer Haider and Company.
Nasir said the publishers should have obtained a “no-objection” certificate for their publications to serve as school textbooks, but “they did so without the government’s consent.”
While publishers refuse to comment at this stage, the private schools which use their books for teaching said the PCTB had not consulted them before taking the decision.
“This is an arbitrary action, and we demand the board to at least consult us before initiating anything,” Kashif Adeeb Jawadani, president of All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association, told Arab News.
He said that private schools would support the board to ban the books if there was anything in them against Pakistan or Islam. One of the banned books, he said, included material on procreation.
“We understand the reproduction process shouldn’t be taught in primary classes,” Jawadani said, “But it can be made part of higher school syllabus.”
Punjab authorities order publishers to withdraw 'inaccurate' schoolbooks or face prosecution
https://arab.news/vkmtp
Punjab authorities order publishers to withdraw 'inaccurate' schoolbooks or face prosecution
- Publishers of the books banned by Punjab authorities include Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press
- The books were banned over ‘factual mistakes’ regarding Pakistan’s geography and history
Pakistan’s finance chief heads to Riyadh to highlight climate funding priorities at global summit
- Muhammad Aurangzeb will join high-level talks on securing capital for climate adaptation and resilience
- The visit includes bilateral meetings with senior Saudi officials to deepen bilateral economic cooperation
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb left for Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to attend the Global Development Finance Conference in Riyadh, said an official statement, where he will present Islamabad’s perspective on climate adaptation and financing.
Pakistan is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, grappling with recurrent floods, heatwaves and rising adaptation costs that far exceed its domestic resources.
Last month, while addressing COP30 in Brazil via video link, Aurangzeb urged reforms to global climate-finance mechanisms, arguing the Green Climate Fund was mired in “bureaucracy” and the Loss and Damage Fund had made little progress four years after its launch.
The finance division said the minister had departed for Riyadh to take part in the conference, a three-day gathering focused on new development-finance models.
“During the conference, Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb will participate in a high-level session on climate adaptation and resilience, where he will join global leaders in discussing how developing countries can secure the capital needed to address climate vulnerabilities,” the statement said.
“His participation will highlight Pakistan’s priorities in climate finance and the government’s efforts to strengthen economic resilience in the face of global environmental challenges,” it added.
Aurangzeb is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with senior Saudi officials, including leadership of the National Development Fund and the Ministry of Finance, to discuss development financing, investment opportunities and broader economic cooperation.
The statement said he will give interviews to international media outlets such as CNN and CGTN to outline Pakistan’s reform trajectory and development-finance needs.
The finance chief will additionally meet Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in Riyadh to review ongoing economic diplomacy initiatives.
The Global Development Finance Conference, organized under the patronage of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aims to bring together more than 100 speakers from over 120 international and regional organizations.
The conference is positioned as a key platform within Vision 2030 to accelerate innovative financing models and support countries seeking sustainable growth amid rising global climate and development pressures.
