Former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has been featured in a chapter from a textbook in the Netherlands on the alleged corruption.
Social media users have shared a picture of the chapter and are speculating that the photo is authentic and is being taught in the European country.
“In Netherlands school children are being taught the subject of corruption of Asif Zardari,” a Twitter user wrote on April 5, “What a moment of shame for Mr. 10 per cent to make it to Dutch books as lessons of corruption.”
The tweet features a picture of a chapter from a textbook with the headline: “Former Pakistani president, ‘Mister 10 per cent’ arrested for corruption.” Under the headline is a photo of Pakistan’s former president Zardari.
Another Twitter account shared the same picture with the text: "Mr. Ten per cent Zardari makes it to the Dutch school books, Lessons in corruption, a proud moment for PPP.”
This was confirmed by the Netherlands' Ministry of Education, Culture and Science that the chapter is from a textbook of a four-year secondary vocational education program in the country.
According to the ministry spokesperson, the chapter was from an old school textbook for 16-year-old students, enrolled in the four-year program.
The spokesperson for the ministry told Geo Fact Check said that the chapter was from an old school textbook for 16-year-old students, enrolled in the four-year program. The textbook features a news article on the Pakistani ex-president for a class discussion.
“This is an older textbook, which refers to a news article of that time,” he told Geo Fact Check via WhatsApp, “It’s very normal to discuss news items of all sorts in classrooms, especially in subjects such as citizenship and social sciences, to which this book refers to.”
The spokesperson explained that in the Netherlands, publishers of school books are responsible for the contents of the books, not the Dutch government, adding that the publisher of this particular book has informed the ministry that the textbook is being reviewed for a new edition, which will be rolled out next year.
“If articles are outdated or do not display the current facts, they will be replaced,” he said.
As per a Google translation of the chapter, it states that Zardari, the former president of Pakistan, has been arrested for corruption and that he and his sister are suspected of money laundering.
The chapter further reads that Zardari has served time in prison and is known as "Mister 10 per cent" because of the payments he collected on government contracts.
Besides Asif Ali Zardari, the three-time former prime minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif has also been mentioned in the article.
“Zardari is not the only former government leader to be convicted,” the article reads, “Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was ousted in 2017, last year he was sentenced to seven years in prison for corruption.”
The chapter further asks students to write why Zardari is called "Mr 10%”.
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