Message that claims ban on Saadat Hasan Manto’s writings is false

A review that is circulated on social media claims that the federal government has banned the publication and distribution of Pakistani author Saadat Hasan Manto’s literary work. The message also reportedly instructs educational institutions to remove his writings from their syllabus.

The claim is false.

Assertion

A notification that is widely divided into WhatsApp groups and attributed to the Ministry of Information and Issuing claims that the government, according to Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act, has banned the publication, distribution and promotion of Saadat Hasan Manto’s authors.

“It has been observed that certain short stories and literary works written by Mr. Manto are incompatible with the moral, cultural and religious values ​​maintained by the Pakistani society,” the document reads.

The message further notices Manto’s writings as “obscene and contrary to public decency” and instructs educational institutions across the country to remove his work from their curricula.

The document appears to be signed by the secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The message, allegedly issued by the Ministry of Information, is circulating on WhatsApp.

The claim was also divided on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Fact

The message has not been issued by the Ministry of Information, nor is there a ban on Manto’s work.

Ambreen Jan, the federal secretary of information and broadcast, told GEO FACT CHECK that the message is “false”.

Tariq Iqbal, the spokesman for the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Islamabad, said the Commission has not received such a directive. Similarly, Khurram Shahzad, Public Relations Officer at Punjab University, confirmed Lahore that no such instructions have been issued to the University of the Ministry of Information.

Ali Kamran, CEO of Sang-E-Meel Publications, a prominent publisher in Lahore, also said: “Officially we have not received such directions from the government.”

To further verify the authenticity of the document, GEO FACT CHECK it analyzed it using attestive, a US-based AI-driven digital forensic platform. The platform assigned the document with a manipulation score of 91, which indicates a high probability that the content is not authentic.

Attestive analysis shows that the document has been manipulated.
Attestive analysis shows that the document has been manipulated.

Judgment The claim that the federal government has banned publication, distribution and promotion of Saadat Hasan Manto’s writings is false.


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