Ineligible women sitting in Punjab Assembly on PML-Q tickets

Several female members of the Punjab Assembly (MPAs) from the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) – elected to the House on reserved seats – either do not possess the necessary educational credentials or have submitted forged degrees to the Election Commission in order to fulfil the criteria for selection on a reserved seat, sources told Daily Times.

In addition, it is being alleged that both the party and the Election Commission have turned a blind eye to these irregularities.

These claims are corroborated by a petition, filed before an election tribunal by one Seemal Kamran – who is also currently a PML-Q MPA from Punjab – against two of her party colleagues, Amina Jahangir and Majida Mir. Although the petition – filed on April 17, 2008 – was withdrawn soon afterwards, ostensibly due to political pressure from within the party, the evidence attached with it has not been refuted by any quarters or in any court of law. Seemal had lodged two separate applications before the election tribunal against Majida and Amina Jahangir – alleging that both women had presented fake degrees before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to secure seats in the Punjab Assembly (PA).

Case against Majida: In the application filed against Majida, Seemal contended that she violated the law by appending a fake pass-result intimation with her nomination papers. The application states that doubt was cast on the educational qualifications of the respondent in light of a duplicate secondary school certificate, placed on the record and dated October 20, 2006. In contrast, according to Majida’s documents, she passed the FA exam in 1979. The application filed before the tribunal goes on to explain that the degree issued by the Punjab University (PU) under Roll No 112843 in the year 2003 in the name of Majida Ghulam Nabi – ‘son’ of Ghulam Nabi of Lahore – does not match the gazette notification for the BA/BSc Annual Examination 2003 issued by PU. In the gazette, the name of one Farhana Shaheen – daughter of Muhammad Din Shaheen of Sargodha – appears against Roll No 112843. In light of these arguments, the petitioner pleaded that Majida could not hold the MPA seat under Article 8D of the Conduct of General Elections Order, 2002 and her name should be struck down from the PML-Q’s priority list of the MPA seat quota for female members.

Case against Amina: Seemal filed the other application against Amina soon after the latter was elected to the Punjab Assembly. The petitioner stated that Amina did not hold a bachelors degree in any discipline or any degree recognised as equivalent thereto by the University Grants Commission (UGC) – now the Higher Education Commission – under the UGC Act 1974. The petition maintained that the returning officer (RO) rejected the MPA’s nomination papers because she was underage, as the age of the respondent was 23 years according to her vote certificate. The copy of the Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) – with the date of birth as 1984 – appended with the nomination papers was fake too, the application stated. It said Amina also did not append copies of her matric and FA certificates with her nomination papers. The application went on to contend that Amina had filed an appeal against the RO’s decision and succeeded to get an order in her favour on the basis of ‘bogus’ documents. “The respondent produced before the appellate tribunal her birth certificate to prove her age with the father name’s as Sardar Pervaiz Ali Khan. However, the result gazette and BA degree from the Islamia University of Bahawalpur showed her father’s name as Sardar Mehmood Ali Khan,” the application produced before the election tribunal in April 2008 states. Later, the application went on to state, a writ petition was filed in the Lahore High Court by a certain Amina Mehmood – daughter of Sardar Mehmood Ali Khan – claiming therein that the degree appended with the nomination papers by the MPA was awarded to her instead of the respondent. Amina Mehmood submitted that Amina Jahangir is the daughter of Sardar Pervaiz Ali Khan, who is her (Amina Mehmood) father’s brother. Seemal had stated in the application that the court was about to take a decision in Amina Mehmood’s favour, but the MPA managed to ‘manoeuvre’ the withdrawal of the writ petition. Seemal also sought the MPA’s removal from office on the basis of the evidence she produced in her petition before the tribunal.

Sources within the PML-Q told Daily Times that the party leadership intervened at this point and managed to compel Seemal to withdraw both her applications a few months after they were filed on April 17, 2008 – the date of the filing of the petitions. Both the accused MPAs were holding seats in the Punjab Assembly on the quota reserved by the PML-Q for female party members and removal of either one of them could have cleared the path for Seemal to become an MPA, the sources added. Sources said the party leadership ‘fulfilled the promise made to Seemal’ in return for her withdrawing the two applications by giving her a seat in the Punjab Assembly, which was made possible by the death of PML-Q MPA Ghazala Farhat.

Party concerned: Sources revealed that some other female PML-Q members were now trying to reopen the two cases in hopes of becoming MPAs. The PML-Q leadership is gravely concerned about the possibility of facing extreme embarrassment if the cases are reopened, especially at a time when a number of people have been exposed and removed from both the national and provincial assemblies for submitting fake degrees. PML-Q leader Kamil Ali Agha stated that the party has never supported anyone who tried to benefit through unfair means. He said the PML-Q ‘scrutinises’ its members thoroughly before forwarding their names for any office, which is why compared to other political parties, ‘very few’ PML-Q members have had to face public embarrassment. Agha said the leadership has never forced anybody from concealing the truth. The PML-Q would never side with anyone trying to benefit through fraudulent means and would take strict action if any such case is reported about any of its members, he added.

Misunderstanding: Relating with her version of events to Daily Times, Majida said Seemal had taken the application back ‘on her own accord’ within a few weeks of submitting it to the election tribunal. There are no fresh manoeuvres going on against her within the party, she added. Majida said she stood by her previous statements that all of her documents are genuine. Giving an almost identical statement, Amina Jahangir told Daily Times that Seemal had withdrawn the application against her after a few of the hearings on her accord. “It was a misunderstanding created between us by the opposition, but Seemal realised the conspiracy soon enough and withdrew the application,” she added.

Denial: However, Seemal said she had “got nothing to do with the applications and somebody else lodged both applications in her name”. She denied ever pursuing the cases and went as far as saying that she never hired any lawyers to represent her. Not surprisingly, when questioned, Seemal refused to say why she never took any legal action against the people who misused her name before the election tribunal. To add another twist to the tale, one of the lawyers who represented Seemal told Daily Times that Seemal herself lodged the applications against both the MPAs, asking for her due right of holding a provincial assembly seat. Punjab Chief election commissioner Akhtar Hussain Sabir told this scribe that election tribunals do not pursue any cases once the petitioner withdrew them.

(via Daily Times)

Fake Degrees: Two PPP politicians declared ineligible

The election appellate tribunal of Lahore High Court on Thursday disqualified two Pakistan Peoples Partly candidates for contesting bye-polls in NA-167 and PP-259, a private TV reported. The three-member elections tribunal comprising Justice Anwar-ul-Haq, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Nasir Saeed Sheikh while hearing a petition declared Chaudhry Nazir Ahmed Jatt and Sardar Allah Wasaya alias Chunnu Khan Leghari ineligible for contesting bye-polls while holding a fake degree. Both the lawmakers had tendered their resignation for having fake educational degrees. Jutt was elected MNA on the ticket of Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) from NA-167 and Allah Wasaya from PP-259. The PPP leadership gave them tickets for contesting by-elections but the court declared them ineligible, observing that those who tendered resignations for possessing fake degrees before the apex court are not able enough to contest by-polls.

(via The Nation)

Fake degree: PML-N MPA resigns

The degree of Maher Pasha Jakrani, elected from Mianwali in the Feb 2008 general election on the PML-N ticket, was challenged in court. In anticipation of his disqualification, he resigned on Saturday.

(via Dawn)

MMA lawmaker expelled for faking degree

An election tribunal of the Peshawar High Court on Thursday disqualified an MPA of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, Gulistan Khan, for possessing a fake sanad of a seminary. Mr Gulistan had submitted a seminary sanad so as to prove that he was a graduate, which was a precondition under the Representation of People Act for contesting the then election.

According to official record the registration number of the said sanad belonged to another seminary, Jamia-i-Sadatul Uloom, situated in Waziristan, which meant that the sanad produced by Mr Gulistan was fake. The case of Mr Gulistan has seen many twists and turns. First, his nomination papers were rejected by the returning officer before the 2008 election on the same ground. However, an appellate tribunal set aside the order of the returning officer.

(via Dawn)

Crime does pay

By Mohammad Malick

Today, sitting in […] hallowed precincts we heard of another unimaginable feat; that of the disgraced, self-confessed forger, proven liar and former MNA Jamshed Dasti being appointed prime minister’s adviser on livestock. Can you imagine, that only a few days back (March 25 to be precise) this man had admitted his crime of obtaining a fake degree before the Supreme Court and had resigned his assembly seat to escape conviction. And what happens less than a fortnight later? A man who should have gone to prison, hidden his face in shame, gets an exalted status of an adviser and will enjoy a higher status and greater government perks, paid for by idiotic taxpayers like you and me. What is he going to advise the prime minister on anyways, how to make and buy forged degrees? How to hide his ignorance of all things decent behind rude mannerism? And then this government wants us to believe that ‘crime does not pay’ (sic).

I don’t even know which feeling was stronger, disgust or rage? Was this sinking overwhelming feeling that of repulsion that I experienced watching such a despicable character walk away with greater political rewards? Or was it outright disgust at watching our newly strengthened and honoured prime minister serve a stinging slap on the face of every decent citizen, foolish enough to convince his children to grow into law abiding, honourable, and ‘honest’ Pakistani citizens.

Read More…

Pointing fingers at a finger-pointer

By Farooq Nomani

Recently, Jamshed Dasti, the man who put the Pakistan cricket team and its then captain Younis Khan through a severe inquest on match-fixing allegations, suffered an ironic personal embarrassment when it emerged that he was guilty of the kind of deceit he was popular for railing against.

After years of subjecting us to his holier-than-thou stance against foul play, it was revealed that Dasti himself faked an academic degree in order to qualify for a seat in the National Assembly. He was promptly forced to resign from his seat in the NA, not to mention his position as chairman of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Sports, an office he used to launch his regular vitriolic attacks against Pakistan sports.

For me, a passionate Pakistan cricket supporter who is tired of having every major loss blamed on match-fixing by uneducated, short-sighted critics, the overdue come-uppance of Dasti was extremely cathartic.

Like them or not, the Pakistan cricket team’s fortunes are tied to our own aspirations, and to see them being needlessly dragged through the dirt by Dasti’s witch-hunt mere weeks after winning the Twenty20 World Cup was as traumatic for a number of cricket followers as it was for the players themselves. It always hurts when your heroes are accused of something underhanded, and this team has enough shortcomings without having to invent false ones.

Moreover, this default “match-fixing” argument constantly levied against the team is counter-productive and deflects attention away from the actual problem, which is the quality and cohesiveness of the team itself. It is endemic in our politicians to displace blame towards extraneous factors rather than look inward and tackle the harder issues. Match-fixing allegations are a convenient way to ignore the obvious: our team has a psychological barrier against beating Australia and generally performing consistently in the longer versions of the game.

Dasti is part of a long line of finger-pointers who have used their visibility to castigate the team whenever they suffered a reversal of fortune. I therefore couldn’t help but take smug satisfaction at the public exposure by the Supreme Court of his hypocrisy. Apparently, he was unable to answer basic questions about Islamic tenets.

The revelations at the hearing bring to a close a distinguished term of service by Dasti, during which he never shied away from fighting tooth and nail for what he believed in, indeed actually engaging in fisticuffs to get his point across. However, Dasti need not despair. There are plenty of other career options open for a man with his select brand of skills in duplicity. Here are a few suggestions:

1.     Dasti could fake a birth certificate and have his date of birth raised by 30 years. Then, armed with the forged respectability of an elder statesman, he can put his oratorical skills to use by campaigning for better pensions plans, social security benefits and medical care for senior citizens such as himself.

2.     Dasti could fake a marriage certificate and have it show him as being wed to an American citizen. Then, after applying for a Green Card, Dasti could fake an airline ticket and shift to the US and become a beacon of hope for the countless Pakistani expatriates yearning for a political voice in Washington. It would be a simple matter of transferring his well-honed political skills to a different forum, and I know a lot of Pakistanis in the US who would view Dasti as their saviour. I can see it now – Dasti on the floor of the House of Representatives, threatening a congressman with a headlock if his demands for lower interest rates on international student loans aren’t entertained.

But maybe Dasti is done with the rat race. Admittedly, his departure from the halls of parliament didn’t come in the best possible circumstances and he may be bitter about the way he was treated. In that case, Dasti could fake his death certificate and have himself pronounced deceased. Not only would he be left alone by the media and his detractors, he could also cash in the various life insurance policies he had taken out under his name and live off them for the rest of his natural life. A fittingly fraudulent end to a supremely fraudulent man.

(via Dawn)

‘Millionaire’ MPAs claim not owning any vehicle

At least 40 Sindh Assembly members, including members of the cabinet, have claimed in declarations to the Election Commission that they do not own any vehicles, while simultaneously declaring their other properties, jewellery, businesses, cash and other valuables as often running into hundreds of millions of rupees.

It is worth noting here that a majority of the MPAs possess not just a single vehicle but often maintain a fleet of cars, SUVs and other vehicles. When they attend assembly sessions, many cars are seen to have personalised number plates — which are illegal — rather than the registration plates issued by the excise and taxation department.

The data regarding MPAs property is from declarations they have submitted to the Election Commission, which has now been notified. It includes information on property owned by the legislators, their spouses and their children. Read More…

PML-N leader accused of trying to occupy land

LARKANA, April 5: A group of people belonging to Brohi clan, including women, held a demonstration outside the Jinnah Bagh here on Monday in protest against local PML-N leader Sarfraz Jatoi, accusing him of destroying their wheat crop and agricultural implements and injuring three people in a bid to encroach upon their land.

Shahzadi Brhoi, an elderly women, and Allah Bakhsh Brohi alleged that Jatoi accompanied by his armed men damaged standing crop of wheat on five acres in Qaisar Brohi village and attacked villagers, injuring Mohammad Moosa Brohi, Abdul Sattar Brohi and Abdul Karim Brohi. Imdad Brohi had gone missing since the attack, they alleged.

But Jatoi retorted: “I neither know about the incident nor have occupied the land” and instead accused Imdad Brohi, a local leader of PPP youth wing, of attacking him at his farmhouse near Nangar Sangi village. Read More…

Fake degrees threaten many more high profile MPs

By Usman Manzoor

ISLAMABAD: A Pandora’s box has been opened after two MNAs, PPP’s Jamshed Dasti and PML-Q’s Nazir Jatt, resigned after their degrees were found to be fake in a Supreme Court case, as many more elected representatives fear they may also fall into this ditch.

Questions are already being raised about the future of these other dubious degree holders and on top of the list is the incumbent president of Pakistan, who holds a graduation degree in Economics and Business Administration from Pedinton School, London.

This qualification of President Asif Ali Zardari was mentioned on the official website of the Pakistan People’s Party but was removed after the general election of 2008. The official wire service of Pakistan also mentioned his London degree when he was elected as the president.

Many tried to locate this UK school, but failed. While no Internet search engine could come up with this institution, an official of the British Council said they were also unaware of the existence of any such school. There is, though, another school having some name resemblance with Pedinton, which is called Pedington School but it is located in Sydney (Australia) and is only from nursery to intermediate. Read More…