Former K-P sports minister also jailed for submitting two fake degrees.
Thursday ended in prison sentences and notices for several fake degree holding ex-lawmakers, and in tears for one in particular.
The Supreme Court had directed the election commission and district courts to take action against former lawmakers in possession of fake degrees and dual nationalities by April 5 (today).
Prominent among them is former member of the National Assembly Jamshed Dasti of the Pakistan Peoples Party, who sobbed uncontrollably as he spoke to the media on Thursday.
Dasti was sentenced to three years in prison and a Rs5,000 fine by the Muzaffargarh District and Sessions Court for submitting a fake degree during the 2008 elections.
Following the announcement of the verdict, the former MNA was spirited away by the police as several of his supporters began wailing.
A complaint against Dasti was filed by one Nawabzada Adnan Ahmed Khan in the Supreme Court, which went on to forward his case to the ECP.
The regional election commissioner filed a petition regarding Dasti’s fake degree in the court of District and Sessions Judge Muzaffargarh, which took up the case and heard the final arguments on Thursday.
The court reserved the verdict after hearing final arguments, while Dasti stepped out of the court to address the media. While wiping off his tears, he said if he was disqualified from contesting the upcoming elections, his brother Javed would take his place.
Following the announcement of the verdict, Dasti said, “I accept the judgment and request my supporters to remain calm.”
Another prominent personality, former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) minister for sports and tourism Syed Aqil Shah, was also sentenced to a year in prison for holding not one, but two bogus degrees and a third one from an unrecognised institution.
Shah was arrested on the premises of the court of District and Sessions Judge Shaibar Khan and shifted to the Central Prison Peshawar amid tight security.
A complaint had been filed against Shah by the regional election commission in September 2012.
Shah, also a member of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and the Awami National Party (ANP), was accused of possessing three degrees, of which two were found to be fake. The third one was obtained from the American International College, Lahore, an institution which was not recognised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) at the time.
On October 25, 2012, Shah’s attorney, Abdul Latif, told the court that since his client had filed a civil suit against the university, which was pending before a Lahore court, criminal proceedings could not be initiated against his client. The request was however turned down by the court on December 11, 2012.
The Peshawar High Court (PHC), on January 16, directed the district and sessions judge to hold the decision on his fake degree case until the Lahore Civil Court announced its verdict.
However, after the Supreme Court issued directions for all election petitions to be decided by April 4, the PHC directed District and Sessions Judge Shaibar Khan to hear Shah’s fake degree case.
On Thursday, in his short judgment, Judge Shaibar Khan found Shah guilty of falsifying his degrees and sentenced him to prison.
Meanwhile, the BA degree of a former senator from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Haji Ghulam Ali, has been challenged in the Supreme Court.
The petitioner said that Ali’s BA degree, obtained from the University of Peshawar in 2008, was fake and required verification from the Higher Education Commission (HEC).
Meanwhile, the Sindh election commission has served notices to seven former lawmakers for allegedly holding fake degrees.
Officials of the provincial election commission told The Express Tribune that six MPAs and one senator had been summoned at the ECP office in Islamabad today (Friday).
They include former Sindh food minister Nadir Magsi, former excise and taxation minister Mukesh Kumar Chawala, Ghulam Sarwar Siyal, Pitanber Sewani, Syed Amir Ali Shah Jamote, Bashir Ahmed Khan and Senator Gul Muhammad Lot.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 5th, 2013.
COMMENTS (6)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
This is absolutely right as people holding these positions should be an example for others. IN UK, a minister is sentenced to 9 months for transferring traffic points to his wife. A little offence where normal person will get a little fine but because he was holding the office and cheated so he got the sentence to set an example for others.
@confused: Don't be so confused, a cheater is a cheater......:-)
@confused, its simple anyone who submits a fake degree is a dishonest person and as such has no right to be a lawmaker. Regardless of caste creed or any other Affiliation.
@confused: The punishment rewarded to these people is not because they are uneducated but because they cheated and defrauded the system and the people by submitting fake degrees when the constitution of Pakistan required that the MNAs & MPAs must be graduates. So they are being punished for the falsehood they have committed and if you look at it from another angle, they are also guilty of violating the constitution. when the clause of holding a degree is take out from the constitution then it,s fine.
The issue is deceipt and fraudulance, not being literate or not.
Although I firmly believe educated lawmakers is a necessity for developing countries but the true essence of democracy says the right to rule or make laws belongs to the people who are voted in by popular mandate, regardless of qualification/ability.
Another reason that I'm confused about this decision is that Dasti was the only lower/middle class candidate who won from the entire South Punjab region. The sardari system of Balochistan, Seraikistan and Interior Sindh prevents commoners from gaining political ground. People need to stand behind the likes of Dasti to challenge the Makhdooms, Nawabs & Sardars!
I do acknowledge that the election commission has to draw a line somewhere and being poor does not allow one to break rules but I had to put my two cents to raise awareness.