LAHORE   -  The Punjab government on Monday withdrew its notification regarding omission of Islamic content from the curriculum books other than Islamyaat. 

The decision comes following a lot of public outcry against the recommendations of the Minority Commission which had recommended omission of Islamic content from the general subjects of curriculum and its inclusion in the single subject of Islamyaat.  

Speaker Punjab Assembly Ch Parvez Elahi and PM’s aide Maulana Tahir Mahmood Ashraf became the voice of the people and raised this issue at different forums. They also met Punjab Governor Ch Mohammad Sarwar and conveyed their and public’s concern on the matter.  The said notification was issued by the Department of Human Rights and Minorities Affairs to implement the recommendations of the commission. 

According to an official handout, the concerned department withdrew the notification to implement the recommendations of the one-member commission on the directive of Governor Punjab. 

Earlier, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Allama Tahir Ashrafi, Chairman Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, Chairman of Wafaq-e-Madaris Maulana Hanif Jalandhari, Chairman of Jamat Ahl-e-Hadees Allama Zubair Ahmad Zaheer, Mufti Ashiq Hussain, Head of Jamia Naeema Dr Ragheb Hussain Naeemi, Chairman of Jamia Rehmania Maulana Amjad Khan, Islami Nazriyati Council member Syed Habib ur Rehman Irfani had a meeting with the Punjab Governor to agitate the issue. They  expressed their concerns over omitting Islamic content from books other than Islamic studies in Punjab’s curriculum.

Talking on the occasion, the Governor said that Islamic content will not be removed from the curriculum and Islamic content in the curriculum will not be limited to Islamic studies only. 

During a meeting with Governor Punjab Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Maulana Tahir Ashrafi and Chairman Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad and other Ulema also demanded strict action to be taken against the officers involved in the matter.

During the meeting, a special prayer was offered at the Governor House on the situation of corona in Pakistan and India. Governor Punjab said that in this hour of need, Pakistan has offered full cooperation to India. Pakistan has always advocated peaceful bilateral ties with its neighbouring countries, he added.