ECP declares eligibility of 298 legislators 'suspicious'

Legislators from National Assembly, Senate and provincial assemblies fail to submit educational documents.

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan on Tuesday declared the eligibility of 298 legislators as suspicious, after they failed to submit their educational documents.

Speaking to Express 24/7, spokesperson for the ECP confirmed that the legislators had failed to submit their matriculation and intermediate certificates.

Among those who have failed to submit the documents are Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Javed Hashmi and Faisal Saleh Hayat.

The list includes 112 members of the National Assembly, 21 of the Senate, 10 members of Sindh Assembly, 45 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10 members of Balochistan and 45 members of Punjab Assembly.

The Apex Court had ordered the ECP to verify the degrees of all parliamentarians from the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the respective universities. The court had also ordered the ECP to send fake degree cases to the relevant courts, where the holder will face the case. The ECP has cleared more than 800 legislators after the submission of original certificates.