Lack of cooperation

The nation expects the PM to comply with HEC requirements and submit his certificates for authentication.

First we had a host of legislators who produced fake degrees. Now the HEC says there are 428 legislators who have failed to hand over the certificates required to ascertain the authenticity of their degrees. The list, which reads like a ‘who’s who’ of the country’s political elite, begins with the prime minister, includes key members of his cabinet and also prominent opposition figures including Chaudhry Nisar Ali and PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. ANP leader Asfandyar Wali also figures on the list, as does law minister Babar Awan. The MQM is so far the only party whose members have submitted the required certification and received the ‘all clear’ from the HEC.

But all this is not a matter of how educated our leaders are. Around the world there are many with the best qualifications who have essentially made a mess of the affairs of their country’s affairs — and done nothing to demonstrate higher learning necessarily coincides with wisdom. President George W Bush, who attended Yale, comes to mind. The issue here is that of complying with the law and setting the right example. This, quite evidently, our leaders are not ready to do — and when they scorn the law they signal to everyone else the right to do the same. This attitude is a factor in the breakdown of law and order in the country and the resulting state of anarchy.

The need for the political leadership to gain respect in the eyes of people can not be sufficiently emphasised. When they act as they are doing now, it can only bring disdain for them. It is imperative that those at the forefront of national affairs set the right examples. The tendency to place themselves above the law is a dangerous one, with many potential repercussions. We expect the prime minister to take the lead in this matter, comply with HEC requirements and ensure that each of his ministers do the same.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18^th, 2010.