Errors put publishers in the line of fire

Simon and Schuster, the New York-based publishers of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's memoir In the Line of Fire are embarrassed because of a number of publishing, spelling and grammatical errors in the book, a media report said.

The series of mis-spelt names and words begin right at the preface, where just under Musharraf's signature, the capital city of Islamabad has been turned into 'Islam bad'.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's name was wrongly spelt as 'Manmoham' in captions accompanying his pictures in the book though his name is correctly given in the text.

Even Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's name suffered in the misspelling offensive. On three occasions, his name has been spelled incorrectly, once as 'Shuakat' (Page-179) and twice as 'Shaukut' (cover jacket flap and Page-232).

'The spelling mistakes have screwed up the Index section of the book as well,' The News reported from Washington.

Asked who was responsible for a number mistakes, the New York-based editor of the book, Bruce Nichols, who has been duly acknowledged by President Musharraf, almost panicked, the report said.

'We are supposed to correct the spellings,' Nichols said, adding the mistakes were being listed in a story. He, however, clarified that he was not the company spokesman and could not go on record.

The editors of the book have committed a major blunder in the chapter titled 'The Conspiracy.' On Page-111, the chapter says that Nawaz Sharif's father-in-law died in September 1999. Following that a sequence of events is mentioned, including a meeting Shahbaz Sharif had with Musharraf 'a few days later,' the report said.

But on the next page, P-112, the book says: "Soon after that the PM invited my wife and me to accompany him and his wife to Mecca for a pilgrimage in August 1999...."

'How could Nawaz Sharif have invited Musharraf to go to Saudi Arabia in August 1999 when he is describing the events after September 1999? There is a major mix-up in the months, which editors of the book Humayun Gauhar or Bruce Nichols should have detected, had they paid attention,' it said.

Meanwhile, the launch of Musharraf's book in the United Arab Emirates has been delayed apparently because it mentioned that disgraced Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan had set up a front in Dubai to sell nuclear secrets to other countries.

The Censorship Board has delayed the release of Musharraf's book because of remarks pertaining to the UAE, the Gulf News reported quoting book dealers.

The 368-page book, which was submitted to Dubai censors last week, was supposed to go on sale on Thursday. It is now expected to be on the shelves on Sunday, a spokesperson for Mag-rudy's, a leading book dealer said.