Pak arrests 12 for selling pirated copies of Jaswant`s book

M Zulqernain
Lahore, Nov 14 (PTI) Pakistani authorities have arrested
two dozen book sellers and distributors from key cities across
the country for selling pirated copies of expelled Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) leader Jaswant Singh's controversial book
on Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Oxford University Press (OUP) has legal rights to publish
in Pakistan the book, 'Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence'.
Since it has not supplied stocks of the book in English
in the Pakistani market, pirated copies are being sold in
cities like Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Karachi for Rs
200 as against the original price of Rs 1,350.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) launched a
crackdown on those selling pirated copies following a
complaint by OUP.
Apart from arresting about two dozen book sellers and
distributors, the FIA has seized pirated copies from shops
across the country.
Singh's controversial book has been in great demand in
Pakistan and book stores flew in thousands of copies from
India even before it was formally launched in the country.
OUP Managing Director Amina Syed said it is very difficult
to stop the piracy of a book which is in such great demand.
She said Singh has informed OUP that he will visit
Pakistan in December to promote the book.
"We will be able to release its Pakistan edition before
his arrival. The edition is in the final stage and copies will
also be supplied to other parts of the world from here," Syed
said. PTI