KARACHI: A press release issued by the Oxford University Press has contradicted a news item appearing on Page 17 in the issue of January 30, and termed the Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA) statement false, malicious, and libellous

It said the allegations made by SPLA that the contract between the Sindh government and Oxford University Press for the supply of Oxford Elementary English-Sindhi Dictionary and Oxford Elementary English-Urdu Dictionary was wrongfully made and that the Sindh education minister had visited India last year at OUP’s expense are totally false and malicious.

The release says since the slightest enquiry by SPLA could have established that, it is correct to assume that SPLA knew them to be false when they issued the press release.

The story is aggravated defamation both against OUP and the Sindh education minister who is an academic and a scholar dedicated to the promotion of education in Sindh.

OUP is the world’s foremost publisher of dictionaries and has access to the largest electronic database of words and meanings.

These two dictionaries supplied to the Sindh government were based on this database and were translated by scholars.

Their selection was based purely on merit i.e. OUP’s good name and reputation and its ability to produce high quality books and establish benchmarks in the quality of both content and production.

The Oxford University Press has played a prominent and worthy role in educational, academic, and reference publishing and the dissemination of learning and knowledge in Pakistan for which it is held in high esteem.

The allegations made by the SPLA are libellous and have damaged the reputation, goodwill, and business of OUP for which OUP puts them on notice to publish a full and unqualified apology failing which Oxford University Press will institute legal proceedings against them for recovery of damages and also criminal defamation.