Pakistan

Fake degrees may lead to mid-term polls: Khan

Leader of the Opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said that there may be mid-term elections in the country.

Express June 25, 2010

Leader of the Opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said that there may be mid-term elections in the country, if a large number of parliamentarians turn out to be fake degree holders.

“I think by-elections will not be an option in such a case,” Khan told media in what appeared to be veiled threat to the government.

The statement came a day after the Supreme Court ordered the Election Commission to initiate action against legislators who contested the 2008 general polls on the basis of fake degrees. According to media reports the number of lawmakers possessing fake degrees could be in hundreds.

Khan said he did not believe the government would be able to avoid mid-term elections and go for by-polls if a large number of lawmakers were disqualified.

He claimed the government was asking his party to support a legislation to protect the legislators who had contested the elections on the basis of fake degrees. But, Khan added that the PML-N has refused to be part of any such move.

Khan told reporters that the government intended to introduce the legislation, possibly next week, which would have retrospective effect from 2002 to protect those lawmakers from disqualification whose degrees could be declared fake by the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

“We have conveyed to them in the strongest term that we will not be part of any such move, rather we will resist it at all levels,” he said.

Khan also criticised the PML-Q for withdrawing its amendments in the Finance Bill accusing the Chaudhrys of Gujrat of hypocrisy.

The PML-Q supported the government and did not follow the PML-N when they staged walkout from the National Assembly when the Finance Bill was passed by the House.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 26^th, 2010.

COMMENTS (3)

naseer hussain | 13 years ago | Reply Ch Nisar Ali probably does not remember the rules of examination or may be he got his degree from Tumbekto. Any one found guilty of cheating in the examination or using any unfair means shall be liable to be rusticated for a period ranging from 1-3 years depending on the nature of guilt.The university issues a notice to that effect and all the educational institutions are informed accordingly.No supplementary examination is announced for such culprits. Asking the nation for mid term elections would amount to announce supplementary examination for such cheators. The party who harbors dishonest people or the school who allows and encourages cheating shall be disqualifed by the Election commission/Higher education commision of the country. Why the nation and the poor people of this poor nation should pay for your crimes.

Syed A. Mateen | 13 years ago | Reply The law made during General (R) Musharraf's rule that a legislator should be a degree holder is still haunting members of the Pakistani parliament. Whatever is not done in the parliaments working in the world is being done in Pakistan. The requirement of a degree for a parliamentarian has done more harm than parliamentarians having no degrees. Ironically speaking what good degree holders parliamentarians have done for the country during General (R) Pervez Musharraf rule? The problems of masses could not be solved but have multiplied many folds. Pakistan should follow what is followed in general world over. How parliamentarians of other countries without holding degrees become eligible and in case of Pakistan parliamentarians become ineligible? We should not make such precedent again, as it is sheer loss of time and money and at the same time has engaged Supreme Court of Pakistan to take up such matters to dispose off the cases of fake degree holders. The question arises: will General (R) Pervez Musharraf follow the same rule what he made during his tenure at the time of awarding party tickets to candidates of All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) in the next general elections? Or this time he will forgo his own rule made by him during his tenure? No where in the world it is necessary that a candidate willing to contest election should possess a graduate degree at the time of filing nomination papers in the office of Election Commissioner. The only requirement for becoming a legislature should be that a candidate should possess a valid CNIC and nothing else. The rest should be left at the discretion of political party chief’s whether they want to award party tickets to Non-Graduate, Graduate, Master in any dicipline or to Ph.D degree holders. We must learn from our past mistakes. It was a blunder which should not be repeated again. Now instead of solving the problems of the masses, legislature sitting on treasury benches or opposition they are all engaged as what will be the result when the concerned authorities will declare whether their educational degrees were fake or genuine? Any thing which begins with hope ends up in shame.

VIEW MORE COMMENTS

Replying to X