Nawaz closes door for fake degree holders

PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif says fake degree holders will not be given party tickets in the next elections.

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has advised all parliamentarians who have become members of the parliament by filing fake degrees to resign voluntarily and save themselves from disgrace.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, he said that his party had been following a principled stance that those who had made it into the assemblies through cheating had no right to represent the people. Nawaz said that clear instructions had been issued to the Muslim League Parliamentary Board that no candidate who had a fake degree would be issued a party ticket.

He said that the PML-N had followed this policy by not issuing a party ticket to one such candidate in Burewala, though he enjoyed public support in his constituency. He said his party accepted the loss of a NA seat but only in pursuit of a principle. Nawaz said no compromise will be made on this rule and no one will be allowed to make a mockery of democracy.

The statement comes after a number of MNAs and MPAs were found to be holding fake degrees in both the PML-N and PPP.