ECP asked to verify degrees of lawmakers

The Supreme Court has asked the ECP to get the degrees of several MPAs from Balochistan verified by HEC.

The Supreme Court has asked the Election Commission of Pakistan to get verified from the Higher Education Commission (HEC) the degrees of several MPAs from Balochistan. The report is to be submitted by July 9.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was hearing cases relating to election matters.

The degrees of six Balochistan MPAs have been challenged by their political adversaries. Prominent among these are provincial minister Maulvi Sarwar, Abdul Rehman Jamali and Nasreen Kithran. Representing the MPAs were lawyer Kamran Murtaza, Tariq Mahmood, Mian Rauf and Ibrahim Satti.

Arguing on Sarwar’s behalf, Murtaza told the court that the last page of his client’s petition – which featured his prayer to the court as well as his signature – had gone missing. At this, the chief justice directed the ECP to appoint an officer to inquire into the matter and submit a report to the registrar’s office by July 9. Murtaza also sought more time from the court for producing the genuine degrees of the MPAs.

Meanwhile, Kithran presented his degree before the bench, which promptly told the ECP to get it verified by the next date of hearing.

The court adjourned the case till July 9 at Murtaza’s request.

Published in The Exprss Tribune, June 29^th, 2010.