Text books withdrawn over poem praising Bush

The Pakistani government has ordered school text books to be withdrawn across the country after it emerged that they included a rather crudely-written poem in praise of President George Bush.

At first sight, 'The Leader' extols the virtues of an unnamed political leader, but on closer examination it turns out that the poem is an acrostic: the first letters of each line spell out: "President George W Bush".

That might not seem so much of a problem in a country that, after all, is one of the US' closest allies.

But President Pervez Musharraf's alliance with the US is deeply unpopular in Pakistan, where there is considerable public support both for Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda.

Several Pakistani newspapers printed the poem on their front pages, and President Musharraf's critics seized on it as evidence that his regime is in the pocket of the Americans.

They accused the government of deliberately including the poem in an attempt to puff Mr Bush.

But the Education Ministry says the truth behind the poem's inclusion is more prosaic - though still embarrassing.

It says the text book's authors stole it off the internet and copied it into the book without realising the poem was an acrostic, or had anything to do with President Bush.

The poem was included in an English language text book for 16-year-olds.

If it was knowingly used by the authorities, it would certainly amount to glorifying Mr Bush.

It describes him as "Bracing for war, yet praying for peace/Using his power so evil will cease".

But what is not clear is how the verse was supposed to improve Pakistani students' English.

Written in rhyming couplets, it includes language as clumsy as: "Going forward and knowing he's right/Even when doubted for why he would fight" and as vapid as "Easy in manner, solid as steel/Strong in his faith, refreshingly real".

English is still widely used in Pakistani intellectual and government circles.

The country's most influential newspapers are published in English, and senior government officials are bilingual.

But in provincial areas knowledge of the language can be limited.

The Pakistani Education Ministry said yesterday the poem's inclusion in the text book was unacceptable, and accused the book's authors of "oversight" and "negligence".

The text book will be withdrawn and replaced with a new printing, without the acrostic, next year.

In the meantime teachers have been ordered to go on using the text book, but to ignore the poem and not use it in classes.

- INDEPENDENT