Governor urged to oversee degree verification issue

LAHORE:

Two lawyers have urged the Punjab governor to ensure transparency in the Punjab University Syndicate's proceedings related to the verification of their law degrees.

The senior lawyers, Shahnawaz Ismail and Jamil Asghar Bhatti, have sent a letter to the governor who is the chancellor of the university. The matter dates back to the Punjab Bar Council elections of 2020, when the authenticity of several candidates' qualifications came under scrutiny.

The letter received at the Governor's Office on Thursday called for an independent review of a syndicate meeting minutes over alleged alterations.

The lawyers appealed to the governor to direct the vice chancellor and registrar to share audio recordings and obtain written confirmation from all syndicate members that the minutes had not been manipulated.

According to sources, the Governor's Office is expected to seek a clarification from the university administration.

The Lahore High Court had directed the Punjab advocate general to verify the degrees from the Punjab University.

The university had initially declared both degrees genuine, but the then chief justice reportedly ordered a fresh inquiry. The Unfair Means Committee later alleged tampering with the record of 15 candidates, including Bhatti and Ismail, and the cases were sent back to the PU Syndicate.

In July this year, a 12-member special committee chaired by Professor Muhammad Nasir reviewed the documents and upheld the authenticity of the degrees, stating that the university had already issued and verified them twice after due process.