SWABI, April 10: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) on Wednesday criticised the former provincial government led by Awami National Party for removing Islamic contents from textbooks.

JUI-F leader and former provincial education minister Maulana Fazal Ali told a news conference here that the most of Islamic contents in textbooks provided to ninth and 10th students had been changed and the pieces written by foreign authors had replaced them.

“Most of the lessons in secondary school class books have been written by foreign authors making it clear that the ANP leaders have been pursuing the US agenda. Changing syllabus was one of the major demands of the US government and the last ANP government met it,” he said.

Flanked by JUI-F candidate for NA-13, Swabi-II Attaul Haq Dervish and other party leaders, Mr Ali said hamad, naat and lessons on Hijrat-i-Nabvi had been excluded from Urdu book of 10th class.

He claimed that even during the British rule, hamad and naat were part of local textbooks.

He alleged that the ANP leaders had became part of a big conspiracy of the US and its western allies against Pakistan by removing Islamic contents from syllabus.

Mr Ali said Islamic sections had also been removed from Pakistan Studies book for 10th class.

“Those having doubts about this should compare these books with old ones. It will help them understand the entire conspiracy,” he said.

The JUI-F leader alleged that the ANP government had changed syllabus to promote western culture.

He said his party had always opposed the last government’s wrong policies.

Mr Ali asked why Pakistanis should allow promotion of western culture and keep their children from own cultural values.

He demanded immediate cancellation of ‘unnecessary and unjust’ changes to syllabus and warned that if that didn’t happen, then all political and religious forces would agitate.

“It’s not an issue of JUI-F alone. It’s an issue, which involves everyone,” he said.