News
Monday, April 08, 2013
Fake educational degreesECP orders action against 11 more ex-lawmakers
* Degrees of Rehana Yahya Baloch, Israrullah Zehri, Mohabat Khan Mari, Samina Khawar Hayat, Seemal Kamran, Shumaila Rana, Shabina Khan, Ijaz Noon, Bashir Khan, Tariq Magsi and Nadir Magsi declared fake
By Tanveer Ahmed
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Sunday declared the academic degrees of eleven former members of parliament and provincial assemblies fake and announced it would initiate criminal proceedings against them.
Those whose degrees have been found invalid are former senators Rehana Yahya Baloch, Mir Israrullah Khan Zehri, Mir Mohabat Khan Mari; former MPAs Samina Khawar Hayat, Seemal Kamran, Shumaila Rana, Shabina Khan, Rana Ijaz Ahmed Noon, Bashir Ahmad Khan, Nawabzada Tariq Magsi and Mir Nadir Magsi. The Supreme Court in its judgement at the start of this month had directed the ECP to revisit the twenty-seven degree cases which the commission had earlier either cleared or closed due to various reasons that were brought to the court’s notice.
Notices were issued to fifteen degree holders, as three of them had passed away and degrees of nine members were cleared by the Higher Education Commission. After hearing these fifteen respondents on April 5 and 6, the degrees of the eleven members were found fake/invalid. In the light of directions of the Supreme Court in the above mentioned judgement, the ECP has decided to de-notify them as well as initiate criminal proceedings in their respective sessions courts.
In the case of former MPA Mukesh Kumar Chawla, the earlier decision of the commission was maintained, whereas in the case of former MPA Robina Irfan, the legal counsel of HEC, assisted by Syed Asim Hussain, Assistant Director, HEC, have given a written statement during the hearing that the degree of Robina Irfan is genuine, therefore, the commission dropped the proceedings against her.
The case of former MPA Pitanbar Sewani was partly heard and adjourned for full hearing to April 11, as the ECP has summoned full record from the university and the board concerned. The case of Senator Nawabzada Muhammad Akbar was heard and the same is too under consideration as yet. Many prominent politicians’ degrees have been confirmed by the HEC, some of whom are: Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Khursheed Shah, Jawed Hashmi, Afrasiab Khattak, Sardar Jamal Laghari, Amir Muqam, Chaudhry Naseer Bhutta, Mehreen Anwar Raja, Ghulam Fareed Kathia, Ghulam Bibi Bharwana, Samsam Bukhari, Bushra Gohar, Tariq Anis, Tahira Aurangzeb, Samina Khalid Ghurki, Qasim Zia and Sardar Saif Khosa.
The Additional Sessions Court Quetta had on Friday sentenced former provincial minister of PPP Ali Madad Jattak to two years in jail and fined him Rs 10,000 for possessing a fake degree. Meanwhile, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Additional Secretary Afzal Khan has said that the process of scrutiny of candidate’s papers would continue even after elections. Talking to media, he also stressed on the caretaker government to desist from making appointments of partial officials, and concentrate instead on appointing neutral officials.
“The caretaker government should prove its neutrality and fairness in elections by making sure that not even the slightest of rigging in polls should be engineered,” he stressed, adding that full impartiality and neutral attitude should be observed during any appointments, possible reshufflings of governmental officials. He emphasised the point that the entire nation would be observing the caretaker government’s functioning during the elections.
He assured that the ECP had taken all necessary measures to ensure that all roads to any kind of rigging were totally blocked, while it was also carrying out stringent scrutiny of all candidates. “ Anybody having any grievances, objections can refer to higher courts for redresses,” he assured. Meanwhile, Afzal Khan has also ordered immediate reinstation of Information Technology bureaucrat Dr Zafar Qadir to his post, while also seeking the services of FBR’s (Federal Board of Revenue) Junaid Ikraam for scrutiny of financial assets of candidates.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk