At least 51 MPs have barely completed their matriculation: FAFEN

Election watchdog says 68 lawmakers have pending criminal cases against them

KARACHI: As many as 51 incoming lawmakers in all provincial assemblies have barely completed their secondary school certifications while 27 had not even finished matriculation, a report compiled by the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) stated.

At least 68 of the lawmakers in all provincial assemblies had pending court cases, it stated.

Punjab

As many as 25 members of the Punjab Assembly had just passed their matriculation, while 19 had even left it unfinished.
Two MPAs were found to be illiterate.

Nearly 32 per cent of incoming legislators hold a Bachelors’ degree while 12 per cent of them are law graduates. As many as 43 legislators hold a Master’s degree.

Sindh

In Sindh, at least 10 lawmakers have finished their matriculation while five are under-matric.

Nearly 28 per cent of the legislators hold a Bachelors’ degree while 18 per cent of them hold a Masters’ degree.

The Sindh Assembly also has 22 legislators with a law degree, nine specialising in engineering and eight with degrees in medicine while one legislator holds a post-graduate degree.

K-P 

As many as 12 legislators in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) have finished their matriculation while two have not finished their secondary school certification.



Nearly 30 per cent of legislators hold a Bachelor’s and 18 per cent Master’s degrees.

The KP Assembly also has 16 legislators with a law degree, two engineers and four with degrees in medicine and dentistry or related fields while one legislator holds a post-graduate degree.

Balochistan

Whereas, in Balochistan as many as four lawmakers are matriculate while one did not finish his SSC education. The provincial assembly has just one legislator who was illiterate.

Nearly 37 per cent of the incoming legislators hold a Bachelor’s and 17 per cent have a Master’s degree.

Balochistan Assembly also has four legislators with a law degree, three engineers and a medical doctor while one legislator is a graduate of a religious seminary.

Pending criminal proceedings 

Punjab

As many as 33 new legislators mentioned in their affidavits that they have criminal cases pending against them. As many as 18 of them belong to PTI followed by the PML-N with 14 and the Pakistan Rah-e-Haq with one.

Sindh

As many as 20 legislators mentioned that they have criminal cases pending against them.

Half of these lawmakers belong to PPP, four to GDA, three to PTI, two to MQMP and an independent.

K-P

Eight incoming legislators mentioned that they have criminal cases pending against them: Five belong to PTI and three to ANP.

Balochistan

Ten incoming legislators’ affidavits mentioned that they have criminal cases pending against them. Three of them belong to BAP, two to ANP, and one each to PTI and PkMAP while three are independent legislators.