Fake degrees case: Arrests warrants issued for minister, MNA

The fake degree cases were transferred by ECP to the sessions court for criminal proceedings.

QUETTA: A lower court has issued bailable arrest warrants for Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MNA Syed Nasir Ali Shah and Balochistan’s Minister for Information Technology Shama Parveen Magsi for fake degrees. The additional sessions judge in Quetta issued the arrest warrants while hearing the fake degree cases against Shah and Magsi. Both Shah and Magsi (who is an MPA) were absent from the proceedings, although the court had ordered the two to ensure their presence in the courtroom. The court will take up the case again on December 21. The fake degree cases were transferred by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to the sessions court for criminal proceedings against the accused for contesting the 2008 elections on fake degrees. This is the second time that a bailable arrest warrant has been issued against Shah.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th, 2012.