BISE Mirpurkhas official sacked for issuing fake certificates

2,539 fake certificates issued between 2021 & 2025 during then controller's tenure

HYDERABAD:

The official at the epicenter of the scam, concerning alleged issuance of fake certificates by Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Mirpurkhas, has been sacked. The Universities and Boards Department on Monday issued an order dismissing from service former controller exams BISE Mirpurkhas, Anwar Aleem Khanzada.

The removal from service comes three weeks after suspension of Khanzada. The order, signed by Section Officer Muhammad Dawood Shah, pointed out that neither the official submitted a reply to February 20 show cause notice nor did he appear for the personal hearing.

"Taking into consideration non-compliance of the show cause notice, it has been established that he is guilty of the charges and misconduct including large scale manipulation and tampering with the annual results of SSC and HSC and the issuance of fake certificates," the order reads.

Two days before his sacking, the incumbent chairman of BISE Mirpurkhas Col (r) Dr Syed Muhammad Alamdar Raza revealed that the board had released some 2,539 fake certificates from 2021 to 2025 when Khanzada was the controller. Meanwhile, a Umerkot district-based higher secondary school has also disclosed that the board's officials allegedly issued 1,275 academic documents in its name during those five years.

Muhammad Arif Qaimkhani, owner of the school, told the media that 613 unauthorised certificates of matric and 662 of intermediate were issued in his school's name though there was no record of those students with the school. "Data of not a single student among those 1,275 exists in our record." Qaimkhani went on to allege that Khanzada is conveying him threats through different sources that they will get my school sealed or will book your brothers in FIRs.

The stamps of our school and certificates have been recovered from possession of the arrested board officials, he maintained. On Sunday the owner of another school, Thar Higher Secondary School, Naukot, had made an identical claim about 463 certificates. Ahsanullah Bhatti claimed that the board's officials released 375 certificates of intermediate and 88 of matric but his school had no record of those students.

Separately, two officials of the board who made revelations about the alleged corruption and fake certificates after their arrest by the district police have informed the cops that they are receiving life threats. A board staff member, Ali Raza Rind and his elder brother Bilal Rind, disclosed that they also worked for that racket while working under Khanzada. "Now I am being given threats to tell my brother to withdraw his statements against Khanzada," Bilal said.

"Since I have given a statement under 164 CrPC, since then I and my family are getting threats," alleged Azam Khan, another board official who was arrested by the district police on March 16. Khanzada could not be contacted for his version.