ISLAMABAD, April 26: The controversy over school curriculum which was simmering in the Northern Areas for the last four years has finally been resolved by withdrawing the controversial textbooks and reopening of schools in the troubled capital city of Gilgit.

The curriculum issue, which triggered sectarian violence that claimed over 20 lives and led to closure of educational institutions in the troubled capital city, was resolved ‘amicably’ on Tuesday at a meeting presided over by Federal Education Minister Lt-Gen Javed Ashraf Qazi.

It took one long year to the government to defuse the tension and reopen schools in Gilgit and its adjoining areas which were closed on June 1, 2004 after sectarian violence over certain ‘controversial contents’ in Islamiyat and Urdu textbooks. During the last one year, atmosphere in the region remained very tense which also resulted in killings, including that of a top prayer leader, Agha Ziauddin, on January 8.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had constituted a special committee headed by Federal Education Minister Ashraf Qazi to resolve the issue.

According to a statement issued by the education ministry after the committee’s meeting, schools in the area will reopen from Wednesday.

The committee unanimously agreed to the proposal of the federal minister to withdraw books of Islamiyat and Urdu of the Punjab Textbook Board which contained controversial contents.

These books will be replaced by the ones published by the NWFP Textbook Board and the National Book Foundation (NFB).

The minister also assured the committee that in the forthcoming review of the national curriculum, all the controversial contents would be removed from Islamiyat and Urdu textbooks, in consultation with the renowned religious scholars of all the schools of thought.

He also urged the religious scholars present on the occasion to shun their petty differences, which caused agony to the common people.

The minister further impressed upon the Northern Areas Legislative Council members to promote peace, harmony and national cohesion in the region.

The NALC members appreciated the efforts of the government in general, and the education minister, in particular, for amicably solving the longstanding controversial issue.

Sources at the education ministry told Dawn that during the meeting Education Minister Qazi said, “the government will make sure that in future schools are not closed and if there is any difference of opinion between the two sects, it should be resolved at other forums not in schools”.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas, Faisal Saleh Hayat, federal secretaries of education and Kana, provincial education departments’ representatives, members of the Northern Areas Legislative Council, Mirza Hussain and Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman; Deputy Chief Executive Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Northern Areas Chief Secretary Nadeem Manzoor, Syed Mohsin Naqvi of the Zehra Publications, Prof (Dr) Fazal Ahmad, Dean, Department of Quran and Sunnah, Karachi University.