Explanation

The Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board deeming “anti-national” and “blasphemous” content has banned a hundred school books in a single day. The Managing Director of the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board told a private TV channel, “We are currently examining over 10,000 books being taught in private schools, so the banned textbooks could be in thousands once we are done.” The MD said that he had taken the action under the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board Act, 2015, which was passed during the tenure of the previous provincial government. According to Section 10 of the Act, the author is required to seek approval from the Board prior to publishing his/her book. The Act further gives the Board power to ban a publication which contains “anything repugnant to the injunctions of Islam, or contrary to the integrity, defence or security of Pakistan or any part of Pakistan, public order or morality. Content related to Islam in an Islamiyat, History, Pakistan Studies, Urdu or Literature book will need a go-ahead from the religious Muttahida Ulema Board, as well as the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board, before it can be included in a private school’s curriculum.”