PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution demanding of the government to immediately implement a death sentence for Kulbushan Jadhav, an Indian national convicted for spying and subversive activities in the country.

“Kulbushan Jadhav is an agent of Indian spy agency, RAW, who had been involved in spreading anarchy in Pakistan for long. When Pakistan’s intelligence agencies traced his network and a military court handed down death sentence to him after he admitted to all charges of spying and subversive activities, why there is a delay in the execution of death sentence,” read the resolution.

The resolution tabled by JUI-F MPA Mufti Syed Janan added that the house recommend to the provincial government to ask the federal government to implement death sentence for Kulbushan Jadhav in line with Pakistani laws so that in future, no one dare commit ‘such shameful, unbearable and unpardonable’ actions.

The house unanimously passed the resolution after the chair, Deputy Speaker Dr Mehar Taj Roghani, put it to vote.

Opposition complains of changes to books, insists move a western plot

The resolution was also signed by public health minister Shah Farman, JI’s Mohammad Ali, ANP’s Syed Jaffar Shah and Qaumi Watan Party’s Miraj Humayun Khan and Bakht Baidar Khan.

Mufti Janan said death sentence was awarded to Kulbushan Jadhav two months ago but ironically, it had yet to be executed.

He said the Indian national had confessed to spying and terrorism in Balochistan and Sindh.

Earlier, a heated debate was seen in the house over the ongoing standardisation of textbooks in the province.

The opposition PML-N and JUI-F lawmakers expressed concern about the changes to textbooks and declared the move a conspiracy of the West.

The debate was triggered by a calling attention notice of PML-N MPA Sardar Zahoor Ahmad, who said the curriculum had been changed in the name of textbook standardisation to accomplish the Western agenda, which had not only violated the ideological borders of the country but also distorted Islamic values in the country and local culture.

“The curriculum has been left at the mercy of Western donor agencies,” he said.

The lawmaker also insisted that the distribution of books in government schools free of charge was part of that conspiracy. He added that donors from the Western countries had been offering a large sum of funds for the purpose.

Leader of the opposition Maulana Lutfur Rehman said the opposition members had serious concerns about changes to textbooks.

He demanded that the assembly speaker refer the matter to the relevant standing committee for detailed discussion.

Responding to the criticism of the lawmakers, elementary and secondary education minister Mohammad Atif Khan rejected the charge of changes to curriculum at the ‘desires of the West’.

“We are still following the curriculum, which was approved by the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government in 2006-7 when the curriculum was a federal subject,” he said.

The minister said the education department had started the standardisation of textbooks from grade 1 to grade 12 keeping in view the new developments in science and technology and education sectors.

“If accepting the donors’ support is a sin, then Punjab where the PML-N rules, is a bigger sinner,” he said.

The minister said the UK’s Department for International Development had been spending 307 million pounds in KP’s education sector, while in Punjab, the amount went up to over 500 million pounds.

Miraj Humayun of the QWP also supported the education department’s steps of the textbook standardisation.

“The education means that students must start thinking and making questions about the content they are taught in textbooks,” she said.

The lawmaker said in Urdu and English subjects, the students should be taught Urdu and English literatures respectively.

She said the educational institutions should produce leaders. The lawmaker insisted some elements were pressuring the government for incorporating Islamic material in every subject including Urdu and English.

The minister said changes to textbooks was an ongoing process, which happened all over the world, and that was the need for the hour.

He said the education department had no mala fide intention in the textbook standardisation and that the matter should be referred to the relevant standing committee for debate.

The house also passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Employees of Transport Department (Regularisation of Services) Bill, 2017, which was tabled by MPA Miraj Humayun Khan.

The chair later adjourned the session until Tuesday.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2017