Pakistan

Two more fake degrees in Parliament

The degrees PPP Minister Haji Sher Azam Khan and PML Q MPA Iqbal Ahmed Langaryal’s were found to be fake on Thursday.

Express July 15, 2010

The degrees PPP Minister Haji Sher Azam Khan and PML Q MPA Iqbal Ahmed Langaryal’s were found to be fake on Thursday.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwas minister, Haji Sher Azam Khan said he did his BBA from Institute of Management Sciences in Lahore, but the university disagreed this claim.

Khan has served as an assistant commissioner and an assistant director for CDA before joining politics.

Iqbal Ahmed Langaryal, on the other hand, had certificates from an unauthorized madrassa.

Earlier in the day Federal Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan said the issue of fake degree is being raised to discredit the parliament.

Speaking exclusively to Express 24/7, he said forces raising the fake degree issue actually want to pave the way for mid-term polls, which the constitution does not allow.

He said the government will do everything it can to resolve the issue.

COMMENTS (3)

Raheela Qaiser | 14 years ago | Reply Many pertinent questions have arisen from this conduct of journalists as well as the legislators. The political parties have to display more scrutiny and devise ways of achieving internal accountability. The media at its end has to work towards self-regulation and setting a code of conduct. It should be reiterated that freedom of media is linked to democratic development. By tarnishing the image of civilian politicians and diminishing the trust in democracy the media would be doing a big disservice to its future and credibility. Three important policy imperatives must be kept in view. Electronic and print media have to work quickly towards a regulatory framework. The state should have nothing to do with this process and it should remain within the realm of the media. Political parties must also show restraint while engaging with media and they should demonstrate that their internal processes are transparent and rule-based. Finally, media barons and owners of newspapers must ensure that the media does not become another interest group like the lawyers fluent in occasional violence and drunk on moral superiority.

Najam Tawana | 14 years ago | Reply Fake degrees of several legislators is now the hottest news item and yet another opportunity to malign democracy. Over a hundred and fifty legislators at various levels are reported to have submitted fake degrees to the Election Commission in 2008. The debate, however, has provided the ammunition to deride the entire political class for being immoral, unfit to govern by historical TV presenters and civic activists. They have conveniently forgotten that many of these fake degree holders were creatures of the establishment, responding to unjust laws and banished by the military and the judiciary time and again. In fact, there is no crisis as by-elections can resolve the issue. But the hysteria around this fact was so intense that the legislators with proper degrees also felt offended and had to strike back.

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