News
Friday, March 26, 2010
Three MPs resign over fake degrees
* PPP MNA Jamshaid Dasti, PML-Q MNA Nazir Jatt, PML-Q MPA Muhammad Ajmal submit resignations
* Supreme Court orders by-elections on vacated seatsBy Masood Rehman
ISLAMABAD: Two members of the National Assembly and one member of the Punjab Assembly on Thursday tendered their resignations before the Supreme Court to avoid disqualification in three different cases of holding fake degrees.
Jamshaid Dasti of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Nazir Jatt of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) submitted their resignations before a six-member larger SC bench, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Rehmat Hussain Jafferi, Justice Tariq Pervez and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday, as it heard their fake degrees’ cases.
By-elections: The court also directed the Election Commission to arrange by-election in NA-167 Vehari-I, NA-178 Muzaffargarh-III and PP-63 Faisalabad in accordance with the law. It also directed the National Assembly secretary to issue a notification of a vacant seat in NA-178 Muzaffargarh within three days.
During the hearings, Dasti failed to answer a volley of questions put forward by the court. He told the court that he had done a Dars-e-Nizami course, however, he even failed to inform the court about the duration of the course.
Nazir did not appear before the court, however, his counsel said that his client had sent his resignation to the National Assembly Secretariat on Wednesday. He said his client did not resign due to holding a fake degree, “but because he wanted to join the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz”.
Muhammad Ajmal, a member of the Punjab Assembly, from PP-63 (Faisalabad-XIII) also resigned on Thursday due to holding a fake degree. The PPP’s Rana Aftab had challenged Ajmal’s election as a PML-Q candidate on the grounds that he had obtained a fake degree from the Darul Uloom Mehmoodia, Bannu.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk