File photo of former MNA Jamshed Dasti. PHOTO: EXPRESS/ FILE
MULTAN: The Lahore High Court Multan Bench ordered the release of former MNA Jamshed Dasti and declared the three-year jail term handed to him as null and void, Express News reported on Wednesday.
The verdict in favour of the ex-MNA came after no evidence was submitted and witnesses failed to appear before the court.
According to sources, Dasti is now eligible to contest the upcoming general elections.
On April 4, Dasti was disqualified from elections, slammed with a three year sentence in jail and Rs 5,000 penalty by the Muzaffargarh District and Sessions court on account of having a fake degree.
Dasti was arrested on court premises and was shifted to a jail amid strict security.
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Is it actually Rs.5,000 panelty or the three zeros have been ommited by mistake?
@Pasha - You can use Comma it looks like this (,)
Is the release of a criminal justified?
@pakistaniat: My Dear " Judge" i hope you must have read that HEC said his degrees are fake, but to my knowledge they said that university is not recognised by HEC. Please correct me if i am wrong.
@Shaks: what is your source of information, making you that sure about his degree, other than irresponsible tv anchors. how many time they have been proven wrong, but still we ignorant stress that what ever they have been saying is right, even without any proof. come on wake up and then grow up.
@A2Z: what is your source of information, making you that sure about his degree, other than irresponsible tv anchors. how many time they have been proven wrong, but still we ignorant stress that what ever they have been saying is right, even without any proof. come on wake up and then grow up.
@Kami: when did supreme court convict him? can you please forward me the Judgement of Supreme Court? i am sure you must have read it.
@Shahid Kamran: what is your source of information, making you that sure about his degree, other than irresponsible tv anchors. how many time they have been proven wrong, but still we ignorant stress that what ever they have been saying is right, even without any proof. come on wake up and then grow up.
@Muhammad Asif Malik: what is your source of information, making you that sure about his degree, other than irresponsible tv anchors. how many time they have been proven wrong, but still we ignorant stress that what ever they have been saying is right, even without any proof. come on wake up and then grow up.
@lol: what is your source of information, making you that sure about his degree, other than irresponsible tv anchors. how many time they have been proven wrong, but still we ignorant stress that what ever they have been saying is right, even without any proof. come on wake up and then grow up.
@Shaks: what is your source of information, making you that sure about his degree, other than irresponsible tv anchors. how many time they have been proven wrong, but still we ignorant stress that what ever they have been saying is right, even without any proof. come on wake up and then grow up.
@Jibran: My intellectual friend that is the news item under discussion. He was convicted in a Sessions court and the LHC overturned the verdict. Did that just flash past you?
@Imran Ahmed: And when exactly was he convicted genius?
Long live our justice system. I think the courts should not waste their and our time in pursuing cases of influentials. We should have seperate courts for the big and meduim guns which can ensure that all the rights of previlidged class are very well preserved.
@Shaks: "Even if the whole of pakistan had voted for dasti even then I the fact remains that he is a liar and a cheat. "
If this were actually the case your argument would e fully justified. Laws should apply to all including people who are elected. Also as an Indian I do not favor any party and am simply making a conceptual point.
The facts appear to be that he neither lied not cheated. Here is what apparently happened: 1) He had submitted his madrassa certificate as equivalent of degree in 2008 when the requirement did exist for a degree. He did not claim that he had gone to a university or anything like that. 2) The madrassa that he claims to have gone and obtained a certificate from confirms that he did so. 3) Based on points 1 and 2, one cannot accuse him of lying or cheating. 4) HEC now says that the certificate he submitted is not equivalent to a BA. Fine, if the EC returning officer in 2008 had refused to accept that certificate as equivalent, then Dasti would have been unable to run. That is not what happened though. The returning officer DID accept that certificate as an equivalent. 5) Later when HEC declared that his certificate could not be considered an equivalent of a BA degree, he resigned from the parliament. 6) By this time the requirement for a degree had been removed and he contested again and won.
It is unclear in this whole sequence of events how he lied or cheated. In light of the facts, the court was right to let him go.
@naeem khan Manhattan,Ks: Please be clear that not having a degree is not a crime, Dasti was not sentenced for not having a degree. The man was convicted for committing fraud by producing a fake document and also for lying under oath repeatedly. Fraud and perjury are serious crimes which can be taken to denote a dishonest character.
it is a good decision, when a person like pervez musharf can contest in election which has done every ruined all the constitution of Pakistan and has done so much to the judiciary. than why jamshed desti can not when people pf his area want him. And why not Ayaz meer, just because he has written a column. What a system in our country.
If you wont call this a slap on face of Pakistani people then what else can it be? Such a ridiculous decision by judge. what sort of evidence do you need when HEC it self proved that his degrees are fake. I just wish we come over these hurdles and get the right leader in coming elections.
Poor Mr. Dasti, justice has prevailed. Justice is the winner. Rest in peace Pakistan.
Long Live Jamshed Dasti. Love his services to safeguard interests of poor Saraikis from Saraiki feudals and "Takht-e-Lahore" Shahrif family whose only interest are to serve Lahore.
To all Dasti hater Punjabi urban degree Phobe middle class: if courts can't bring Musharaf to justice then there is no need to slaughter people like Dasti.
It is shame and someone is making someone a big fool........ and public is big fool.
@wizarat: "And this is the independent Judiciary, independent of What? brains!!!"
Love that quote. Whenever I talk to a Pakistani Judge or a lawyer, they talk in the same way as a politician does. In fact one even admitted that he wanted to "make money by hook or crook".
Is anyone sincere with Pakistan?
Holding a degree does not mean a person is educated, there are people who are intelligent and good human beings with out having any degrees, you could find millions of them in Pakistan.If Mr.Dasti has violated the law then he should be given punishment, however the punishment he got was way overboard. He is not a violent person and should have been released on paroll.Let the people decide what they want to do with him. Remember, degree requirement was the gift of a military dictator to the nation, In the US , there is no such reqirement for contesting a public office, and I believe US is a democratic country.
I don't want to vote in this election anymore!
Messages here are full of hate, lacking common sense. When gun man Mush commando allowed MMA to accpet their "Sanads", all were happy. When jamshed Dasti presented same, then that is not acceptable. Even Imam who under oath came in court and said that he has paased examination! but judge convicted him at the recommendation of regional election commissioner! did judge has no brain to decide on its own. who is the elction commisiooner to dicater to session judge? what is the travesty of justice! Msuh should be hange for his crimes but chitral judge gave a right verdict that he is accused not convicted Many well meaning people don't make distinctionbetween accsued and convicted? We need represntative of people and not reperestatrive of establishment and people propped up by petrodollars. I wish Dasti good luck to defeat feudal lord. even if he was illiterate I would have supported him. Wisdom does not come with BA degeee or PhD in marine biology or craming some anaotomy book or having masters in nano technology.
Look at Pakistani courts! Laws are only to control the poor.
@people who r saying "let the people decide" and "he was voted with big numbers" should take note that there Adolf Hitler was the most popular leader of his people and was loved and elected to become their leader. This man became responsible for the deaths of countless number of people.
Even if the whole of pakistan had voted for dasti even then I the fact remains that he is a liar and a cheat. How can his sentence be dismissed so quiclky when we see poor people spend their lifetime in courts without getting any kind of justice. Shame on us.
the performance of judges must be evaluated by non judges
The courts have slowly taken over the running of the country In theor poltical rivalry with ppp , all political parties have ignored this phenomenon Supreme court id now the new supreemo All new governments will find themselves hostage to this new breed od lawyers They have palyed a game with Dasti and disgraced politicians He will win again
First Sharif's tax evasion and now Dasti's fake degree. Wait till they are in assembly and both crimes will be legalized.
So people with fake degrees can now go scotfree. Why do u need witnesses for a fake degree? HEC has no objection to fake degrees. So now all fake degree holders will be absolved of their crimes. Mubarak ho Pakistani quom, yeh bhi tabdili hai.
the bottom line is no evidence was submitted and witnesses failed to appear before the court time and again it's the prosecution which is to be blamed not judiciary although courts have their own ills!!!!!
What a picture !
And we wanted to know why East Pakistan became Bangladesh? And this is the independent Judiciary, independent of What? brains!!!
@ ahmed: "Let the people decide who they want to vote for." If the people were not highly illiterate (owing to nationalization of schools by ZAB) they would always have voted for honest candidates.But because the masses are brainless, they easily fall for those who promise them the moon. It's necessary to disqualify loan-defaulters, tax-evaders, fake-degree and dual-nationality holders to prevent them from contesting and winning.
i got the feeling that eventually they all will get through except the Musharraf
What a joke !!!
'Witness didn't appear in the court' is not a good enough reason to allow a person to participate in elections.
What type of precedent these courts are setting? When someone got admission on fake certificate, it is a criminal offense but when someone in the NA lied about his certificate that is not punishable offense...utterly crap.
Really, so what is the purpose of this disqualification drama. Supreme Court convicted him of fake degree now he is released by Lahore High Court.
right decision on both counts. Let the people decide who they want to vote for. Dasti was voted in big numbers by his own people who trust him more than some of feudal lords. Also what's Ayaz Amir's crime ?
i'm NOT shocked then why am i so ANGRY
Funny court ....
Like most mullahs and terrorists Dasti is also released for lack of proofs and the disappearance of witnesses.
Shouldnt they release all MNAs and MPAs indicted for fake degree? Or is it just that he has parted way with PPP that he has been absolved of the crime the Supreme Court has emphasized repeatedly on us the heniousness of.
Good decision of LHR high court, The big names of corruption, tax and loan defaulters are able to contest then why not a middle class person??????????
Inconsistency in justice is not good. Please do us a favour and let us know the truth for once.
These courts. And we say our judiciary is independent and competent. We should throw out all these judges, politicians and corrupt bureaucrats. I'm sure in a country of 180 million people we have enough people to completely replace them.
RIP justice
So now after politicians courts have started to make fool of us?
If Ludhianvi and Malik Ishaq can run for elections, why not Sarabjit Singh?
Looks like Tamasha. One side Secretary ECP claiming no one can interfere in the working of returning officers. While on other side all decisons of returning officers being decalred nul and void. YA ELAHI YEH MAJRA KIA HAI?
what the ...
First Ayaz Amir and now Jamshed Dasti. What's next? LHC orders release of Sarabjit Singh and allows him to contest elections?