Verification of degrees: Clock ticking for nearly 200 ex-lawmakers

CJP orders ‘ruthless scrutiny’ of all contestants.

ISLAMABAD:

Three days. That’s how much time former lawmakers have left to get their educational credentials verified by the Higher Education Commission.

A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, directed 189 former lawmakers to approach the HEC with their original documents by April 5.

“The issue of fake degrees was initiated in 2010 and the ex-lawmakers had failed to get themselves cleared despite repeated notices from the HEC and the Election Commission of Pakistan,” said Justice Chaudhry, while hearing a case pertaining to former lawmakers with fake degrees.

“The voter should know about the candidates before casting his or her vote and the candidates should clarify their positions about their degrees before the elections,” he added.

The chief justice called for a “ruthless scrutiny” of all contestants, given that each elected member would be representing at least 50,000 voters.

The bench, also comprising Justice Amir Hani Muslim and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, directed the ECP to convey the list of the 189 former lawmakers to the returning officers.

ECP Secretary Ishtiaq Ahmed said a list had already been pasted on the official website of the commission to facilitate both the ex-lawmakers and the voters.



The court further directed the HEC and ECP to once again issue notices to the former lawmakers to submit their secondary school certificates (SSC) and higher secondary school certificates (HSSC) along with their graduation degrees.

The bench also directed the ECP to review the case of 27 ex-lawmakers, whose degrees the ECP had deemed acceptable. The ECP was told to denotify lawmakers if it is found that they had furnished incorrect declarations when filling nominations papers during the 2008 elections.

HEC Chairman Javed Leghari told the court that they had also written to respective universities to verify the degrees and additional documents submitted at the time of admissions. He added that the universities could not verify degrees unless original Matriculate and Intermediate certificates were provided to them.

He said that, so far, the degrees of as many as 54 ex-Lawmakers had been found to be fake or invalid.

ECP Secretary Ishtiaq Ahmed also told the court that a meeting was held with the representatives of parliamentarians on February 28, during which it was decided that the HEC would verify the degrees.

In a written order, the bench expressed displeasure at the ECP for not adhering to the court’s 2010 judgment by not completing the process of checking the degrees.

The ECP secretary informed the court there were 69 cases in which degrees of lawmakers were found to be bogus. Of those, there are references against 13; 21cases have referred for registration of FIRs; 27 have been closed, while eight cases are in process.

Right to vote for expats

While the ECP came under fire, there was some praise for the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).  Attorney General Irfan Qadir and the SC bench appreciated NADRA for developing software within 48 hours that would ensure voting rights to Pakistani expatriates.



NADRA Chairman Tariq Malik presented a demonstration of the software, which employs a bio-metric system for casting votes by overseas Pakistanis. After approval by the ECP, this system will be deployed in different Pakistani missions abroad.

Although the software was developed without any cost, $1.5 million would be needed for necessary equipment and logistic support, the chairman explained.

Sher Afgan, the ECP’s election director, told the court that the software would be approved by the commission after its IT experts scrutinise it in detail. This is of great importance given the recent cyber attack carried out on the ECP’s website.

The court postponed the proceedings for 10 days in order to evolve a common strategy to make the programme viable for both the ECP and NADRA.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 2^nd, 2013.