9 out of 12 legislators skip hearing of fake degrees case
Nine out of 12 legislators have skipped hearing of the fake degrees case in the Election Commission.
ISLAMABAD:
Nine out of 12 legislators have skipped hearing of the fake degrees case in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) which was scheduled to be held today (Monday).
Updated from print edition (below)
12 legislators appear before Election Commission today
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is set to take up cases of 12 legislators to clarify their status pertaining to the authenticity of their academic credentials on Monday.
Opposition leader in the Balochistan Assembly Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind, who is living in Dubai for security reasons, will not appear before the three-member committee. His counsel will argue on his behalf.
Monday’s hearing consists of four law makers of the National Assembly (NA), six from the Punjab Assembly and one each from Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa (K-P) assemblies. Hayatullah Tarin, Ghulam Dastagir, Nasir Ali Shah, Mir Hamdan Khan are from the NA, Safdar Gill, Zulfikar Ali Khan, Badshah Khan Qaisrani, Rizwan Gill, Haji Nasir and Shaukat Aziz Bhatti are from Punjab Assembly, while Kishore Kumar is from K-P.
The committee is conducting a hearing for the fake degrees case for the sixth time. It has already finalized the initial hearing of 37 out of 57 fake degree cases.
Thirteen more parliamentarians will appear before the ECP committee, which is headed by Joint Secretary Muhammad Afzal Khan. Higher Education Commission focal person Dr Rahim Bux Channa and Deputy Secretary ECP Jalil Naqvi will also be on the committee.
The 13 legislators are Afshan Farooq, Malik Iqbal Langrial, Shahina Kamran, Farukh Deeba, Syed Majida Zaidi, Nasim Nasir Khawaja, Mazhar Hayat, Muhammad Khan, Jawar Hassan, Shabina Riaz, Dewan Ashiq, Syed Amir Ali Shah, and Mukesh Kumar.
Khan told The Express Tribune that the ECP will complete the hearing of the dubious degrees holders by 25 October, and the matter will then be in the hands of the Supreme Court.
Dr Channa said that the ECP has not sent any details to the HEC of 20 legislators, while some information pertaining to 34 legislators could not be provided to HEC by the ECP.
Of the legislators under trial, 11 are foreign graduates while the remaining are Pakistani graduates, said Dr Channa, adding that 550 degrees, out of total 1,095, have been verified so far.
432 legislator degrees have been sent back to concerned universities for the provision of the ‘complete comprehensive form’ that verifies the qualification of the candidates, he added. Cases of 14 legislators’ degrees are being held in different courts. Afzal Khan said that the ECP was not bound to provide details of the degrees.
“All executive authorities, including HEC, empower the ECP to have privileges in election matters, under Article 220 of the Constitution. The HEC, under Section 220 of the Constitution, is bound to assist the ECP in the discharge of their functions,” Khan said.
The Supreme Court had directed the ECP to complete the process of verification of all the lawmakers’ degrees within three months. The ECP was also seeking Supreme Court’s assistance in removing hurdles while winding up the verification process through its constitutional privileges.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 11th, 2010.
Nine out of 12 legislators have skipped hearing of the fake degrees case in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) which was scheduled to be held today (Monday).
Updated from print edition (below)
12 legislators appear before Election Commission today
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is set to take up cases of 12 legislators to clarify their status pertaining to the authenticity of their academic credentials on Monday.
Opposition leader in the Balochistan Assembly Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind, who is living in Dubai for security reasons, will not appear before the three-member committee. His counsel will argue on his behalf.
Monday’s hearing consists of four law makers of the National Assembly (NA), six from the Punjab Assembly and one each from Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa (K-P) assemblies. Hayatullah Tarin, Ghulam Dastagir, Nasir Ali Shah, Mir Hamdan Khan are from the NA, Safdar Gill, Zulfikar Ali Khan, Badshah Khan Qaisrani, Rizwan Gill, Haji Nasir and Shaukat Aziz Bhatti are from Punjab Assembly, while Kishore Kumar is from K-P.
The committee is conducting a hearing for the fake degrees case for the sixth time. It has already finalized the initial hearing of 37 out of 57 fake degree cases.
Thirteen more parliamentarians will appear before the ECP committee, which is headed by Joint Secretary Muhammad Afzal Khan. Higher Education Commission focal person Dr Rahim Bux Channa and Deputy Secretary ECP Jalil Naqvi will also be on the committee.
The 13 legislators are Afshan Farooq, Malik Iqbal Langrial, Shahina Kamran, Farukh Deeba, Syed Majida Zaidi, Nasim Nasir Khawaja, Mazhar Hayat, Muhammad Khan, Jawar Hassan, Shabina Riaz, Dewan Ashiq, Syed Amir Ali Shah, and Mukesh Kumar.
Khan told The Express Tribune that the ECP will complete the hearing of the dubious degrees holders by 25 October, and the matter will then be in the hands of the Supreme Court.
Dr Channa said that the ECP has not sent any details to the HEC of 20 legislators, while some information pertaining to 34 legislators could not be provided to HEC by the ECP.
Of the legislators under trial, 11 are foreign graduates while the remaining are Pakistani graduates, said Dr Channa, adding that 550 degrees, out of total 1,095, have been verified so far.
432 legislator degrees have been sent back to concerned universities for the provision of the ‘complete comprehensive form’ that verifies the qualification of the candidates, he added. Cases of 14 legislators’ degrees are being held in different courts. Afzal Khan said that the ECP was not bound to provide details of the degrees.
“All executive authorities, including HEC, empower the ECP to have privileges in election matters, under Article 220 of the Constitution. The HEC, under Section 220 of the Constitution, is bound to assist the ECP in the discharge of their functions,” Khan said.
The Supreme Court had directed the ECP to complete the process of verification of all the lawmakers’ degrees within three months. The ECP was also seeking Supreme Court’s assistance in removing hurdles while winding up the verification process through its constitutional privileges.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 11th, 2010.