LHC orders inquiry into atlas book error

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday ordered Punjab chief secretary to hold an inquiry into the matter of showing Pakistani Kashmir and the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region as Indian territories in an atlas book provided to elementary and high school libraries in the Punjab. The court also ordered the chief secretary to submit an inquiry report in the court office. Justice Shahid Waheed passed the orders while disposing of a petition filed by the Pakistan Social Justice Party for inquiry into the matter and initiating action against those responsible for the error. Earlier, the petitioner’s counsel arguing before the court submitted that Pakistani Kashmir and the GB region were shown as Indian territories in an atlas book provided to elementary and high school libraries under the Punjab Schools Library Project. The counsel contended that it was a conspiracy against the country and requested that an inquiry should be launched into the matter. He also pleaded action against education department officials who were responsible for the publication of the atlas. Earlier, an atlas published by the Punjab Education Department had mistakenly shown GB, the Northern Areas and Kashmir as parts of India. According to the report, the publishers mistakenly showed the mentioned Pakistani areas as parts of India on pages 42, 47, 52 and 62 of the new atlas. Department of Schools publishers did not check for mistakes and sent the map for printing in the atlas. The report said that 10,000 copies of the atlas had been distributed among all government schools and libraries across Punjab. Education Minister Shujaur Rehman said it was a major mistake and all copies would be recalled and an inquiry would be held into the matter.