Five more lawmakers summoned on Monday

ECP summons five lawmakers to appear before a committee hearing the cases of fake degree holders.

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has summoned five lawmakers to appear on Monday before a committee hearing the cases of fake degree holders. Those served notices include two members of the National Assembly and three Punjab Assembly members.

Dairy and Livestock Minister Mir Humayun Aziz Kurd is one of those summoned by the Election Commission. Kurd was elected an MNA from NA-267 from Karachi on a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) ticket and was inducted into the cabinet of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani as a federal minister. During the verification of educational credentials, the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) declared his degree invalid.

Among other cabinet members, the degree of Mir Israrullah Zehri, the minister for postal services, was declared fake. His case is also under process in the Election Commission. However, he has denied receiving summons from the Election Commission.

The other MNA who has been asked to appear on Monday is Akhunzada Chattan from Fata. He was elected as an independent candidate but later joined the ruling PPP. His degree was also declared fake by the HEC.

The three Punjab Assembly members who have been served notices are Zulfiqar Ali from PP-271, Naseem Nasir, Syeda Majida Zaidi and Safina Khar. All of them were elected on reserved seats. The HEC has cleared 603 lawmakers while declaring fake or invalid the educational certificates of 59 others.

The ECP has yet to decide on how to proceed against those whose degrees have been declared invalid since many of these lawmakers hold genuine certificates but their educational institutions are not on the HEC list of institutions.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2010.