Govt mulls law to shield fake degree holders

The government is secretly working to enact a law that would allow lawmakers with fake degrees to evade graduation clause.

ISLAMABAD: The government is learnt to have stepped up secret efforts to enact a law that would allow lawmakers with fake degrees to evade the mandatory graduation clause of the 2008 elections.

A bill has already been drafted, which may be introduced in the coming session of the National Assembly later this month as a private legislation jointly by members belonging to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), its allied groups and an opposition party.

Office-bearers of various political parties said on The Express Tribune here on Thursday that their leaders were engaged in behind the scene negotiations.

The proposed law, they said, would make the graduation condition irrelevant since its promulgation was in the Musharraf regime.

Although, the law is not valid now, it was one of the mandatory requirements of people contesting for the National Assembly or provincial assemblies in 2008.

According to various estimates, more than 150 members of parliament were elected on fake degrees and they might have to resign en masse – a move with a potential to trigger an extraordinary political crisis. The bill, if approved by the National Assembly and the Senate, would be applicable retrospectively.

The government has so far been successful in persuading at least three of its four-ally coalition at the centre to support the legislation.

MQM is said to be reluctant to support the law, saying it will tantamount to “favouring people who offended the entire nation.”

But officials from both sides said the MQM was thinking about abstaining from voting on the bill, giving the government a chance to get it approved from both the houses of parliament without any difficulty.

Insiders said President Asif Ali Zardari had assigned Labour Minister Khursheed Ali Shah and Interior Minister Rehman Malik to deal with the MQM and they have already initiated contacts.

The Awami National Party (ANP), Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F and a group of parliamentarians from tribal regions have conveyed to the government that they would vote in favour of the bill.

Of the two Leagues in opposition, the government has managed to get the support of one in what appeared to be an indication of a new political alignment.

Officials said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Q “is ready to help the government to get this legislation through both houses of parliament”.

With this equation, it is going to be a smooth sailing for the government.

A PML-Q MNA from Bahawalpur division, Riaz Pirzada, told this correspondent that the bill had been drafted and may be presented in the National Assembly in a session “later this month”.

According to Pirzada, the government is negotiating with various parties and there are indications that a consensus can emerge ahead of the next meeting of the National Assembly.

Pirzada, however, added that the legislation would be presented as a private bill by himself and several other parliamentarians from various parties.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2010.