By UZMA ALEEM
None of the parliamentarians having fake degrees have been proceeded against according to law by the Election Commission of Pakistan or the government. The punishment for the act is seven years imprisonment. Why the FIRs were not registered against them, question UZMA ALEEM
On the evening of June 17, 1972, five people broke into the Democratic National Headquarters of US to bug their telephones. These men were members of the ‘Plumbers’, a group of anti-Castro Cuban refugees, former FBI agents and former CIA agents among others. The group was strongly Republican. The place they broke into was The Watergate Hotel for burglary and interception of telephone. Afterward U.S. President Richard Nixon was eventually removed from office because a minor political burglary at a Democratic Party office at the Watergate building led to a national conversation that unearthed far more disturbing trends in Nixon’s attitude towards governance, and his own respect for the law.
The issue of ‘fake degrees’ may be on its way to become Pakistan’s equivalent of a similar tendency: an offence than many Pakistanis would consider relatively ‘small’ in light of larger abuses of the law that they see everyday, is being used by society as a means to expose and punish a deep-rooted tendency amongst those who seek and claim power to lie to and cheat those who they are meant to serve.
For law everyone is considered equal, whether privileged Member of Parliament or a poor citizen. The eye of law places fake degree holder as a criminal who must be punished under forgery of documents and fraud case under article 62F of Pakistan Penal code.
So far the issue of fake degree holder parliamentarians is concerned, the MPs of both the PML and PPP have been exposed and disqualified but no legal action has been taken yet, which is the requirement of the hour to stop this practice in future.
The punishment for the act is seven years imprisonment and disqualification for five years for elections. Why the FIRs were not registered against them’
Ahmed Awais, renowned expert of constitutional law, said that he was shocked on the passivity of Election Commission of Pakistan on this issue. ECP was supposed to take immediate action on it but they did not file any FIR for this act of forgery against these MPs.
Hamid Khan, Former President Supreme Court Bar Association, said that parliamentarian who were the fake degree holders or any one had attained or purchased a fake degree of graduation to enter parliament as per graduation restriction for the parliamentarians, should be punished under forgery of document and electoral fraud case under Section 468, 470 and 471.
Advocate Abid Hassan Minto on the issue said there were number of such cases. ‘It varies from case to case and only degree holder is not guilty, probe must be held against the institution, which is issuing the degrees that prove fake in the end. May be in some case, degree holder is guilty and the institution or university may be guilty. So it varies from case to case, he elucidated.
Fake degrees scandal of Pakistani parliamentarians has thrilled the media and Pakistani nation. How shameless is this that fake degrees of parliamentarians have become a matter of embarrassment for the nation. Around 47 MPs’ degrees have been proved fake. But no action has been taken yet. Here are the names of some of the honourable politicians with fake degrees;
‘ Jamshed Dasti (Parliamentary sports committee head and PPP legislator).
‘ Nazir Jatt (PML -Q)
‘ Mohammad Ajmal (PML-N)
‘ Azam Chaila (PML-N)
‘ Bashir Ahmed Bhabban (PML-Functional)
‘ Mohammad Khan Jonejo (PML-Functional)
‘ Sheikh Amjad Aziz (PML-N)
‘ Haji Nasir Mehmood (PML-N)
‘ Haji Pervez Khan (PML-N)
‘ Haji Zulfiqar Ali.
‘ Farha Deeba (Members Punjab Assembly)
‘ Shumaila Rana (Members Punjab Assembly)
‘ Raheela Khadim Hussain (Members Punjab Assembly)
‘ Saima Mohauddin (Members Punjab Assembly)
‘ Mehmooda Sahi (Members Punjab Assembly)
‘ Shagufta Sheikh (Members Punjab Assembly)
‘ Samina Khanwar Hayat (Members Punjab Assembly)
‘ Seemal Kamran (Members Punjab Assembly)
‘ Amina Jehangir (Members Punjab Assembly)
The parliamentarians with fake degrees have set a very wrong example to the youth of this nation that they need not study nor work hard but fraudulently obtain fake degrees and become legislatures. Moreover, what is the standard of legislation that emanates from parliamentarians, who are not just illiterate but their basis of entry into the parliament is through a lie and fraud. The custodians of law in Pakistan need to take cognizance of the fact that a common criminal is taken to the sword for committing a petty crime but how a parliamentarian’s culpable and deliberate fraud is condoned. One may ask whether there are two standards of justice; one for ordinary plebeians and another for the privileged class of parliamentarians. The honourable judiciary must take precedence from the case of a former justice in Quetta, whose Matriculation degree was found fake. He not only had to resign his post but was convicted. They perhaps like to examine the precedence from the west, which we try to emulate constantly. Parliamentarians there do not have their qualifications or declaration of assets or tax returns examined since there is no trust deficit. However, if at any stage it is brought out that any of their declarations were fake or fraudulent, they are not only made to resign from their posts but face prosecution. Pakistani jurisprudence has ample provisions to punish those guilty of fraud or forgery. How and what are the constraints prohibiting our judges from sentencing those parliamentarians found guilty of forgery and fraud is anybody’s guess. Exemplary punishment must be awarded to those parliamentarians found guilty of the crime of forgery and submitting fake degrees; otherwise Pakistani parliamentarians will be the laughing stock for the world.
None of the parliamentarians having fake degrees have been proceeded against according to law by the Election Commission of Pakistan or the government. The punishment for the act is seven years imprisonment. Why the FIRs were not registered against them, question UZMA ALEEM
On the evening of June 17, 1972, five people broke into the Democratic National Headquarters of US to bug their telephones. These men were members of the ‘Plumbers’, a group of anti-Castro Cuban refugees, former FBI agents and former CIA agents among others. The group was strongly Republican. The place they broke into was The Watergate Hotel for burglary and interception of telephone. Afterward U.S. President Richard Nixon was eventually removed from office because a minor political burglary at a Democratic Party office at the Watergate building led to a national conversation that unearthed far more disturbing trends in Nixon’s attitude towards governance, and his own respect for the law.
The issue of ‘fake degrees’ may be on its way to become Pakistan’s equivalent of a similar tendency: an offence than many Pakistanis would consider relatively ‘small’ in light of larger abuses of the law that they see everyday, is being used by society as a means to expose and punish a deep-rooted tendency amongst those who seek and claim power to lie to and cheat those who they are meant to serve.
For law everyone is considered equal, whether privileged Member of Parliament or a poor citizen. The eye of law places fake degree holder as a criminal who must be punished under forgery of documents and fraud case under article 62F of Pakistan Penal code.
So far the issue of fake degree holder parliamentarians is concerned, the MPs of both the PML and PPP have been exposed and disqualified but no legal action has been taken yet, which is the requirement of the hour to stop this practice in future.
The punishment for the act is seven years imprisonment and disqualification for five years for elections. Why the FIRs were not registered against them’
Ahmed Awais, renowned expert of constitutional law, said that he was shocked on the passivity of Election Commission of Pakistan on this issue. ECP was supposed to take immediate action on it but they did not file any FIR for this act of forgery against these MPs.
Hamid Khan, Former President Supreme Court Bar Association, said that parliamentarian who were the fake degree holders or any one had attained or purchased a fake degree of graduation to enter parliament as per graduation restriction for the parliamentarians, should be punished under forgery of document and electoral fraud case under Section 468, 470 and 471.
Advocate Abid Hassan Minto on the issue said there were number of such cases. ‘It varies from case to case and only degree holder is not guilty, probe must be held against the institution, which is issuing the degrees that prove fake in the end. May be in some case, degree holder is guilty and the institution or university may be guilty. So it varies from case to case, he elucidated.
Fake degrees scandal of Pakistani parliamentarians has thrilled the media and Pakistani nation. How shameless is this that fake degrees of parliamentarians have become a matter of embarrassment for the nation. Around 47 MPs’ degrees have been proved fake. But no action has been taken yet. Here are the names of some of the honourable politicians with fake degrees;
‘ Jamshed Dasti (Parliamentary sports committee head and PPP legislator).
‘ Nazir Jatt (PML -Q)
‘ Mohammad Ajmal (PML-N)
‘ Azam Chaila (PML-N)
‘ Bashir Ahmed Bhabban (PML-Functional)
‘ Mohammad Khan Jonejo (PML-Functional)
‘ Sheikh Amjad Aziz (PML-N)
‘ Haji Nasir Mehmood (PML-N)
‘ Haji Pervez Khan (PML-N)
‘ Haji Zulfiqar Ali.
‘ Farha Deeba (Members Punjab Assembly)
‘ Shumaila Rana (Members Punjab Assembly)
‘ Raheela Khadim Hussain (Members Punjab Assembly)
‘ Saima Mohauddin (Members Punjab Assembly)
‘ Mehmooda Sahi (Members Punjab Assembly)
‘ Shagufta Sheikh (Members Punjab Assembly)
‘ Samina Khanwar Hayat (Members Punjab Assembly)
‘ Seemal Kamran (Members Punjab Assembly)
‘ Amina Jehangir (Members Punjab Assembly)
The parliamentarians with fake degrees have set a very wrong example to the youth of this nation that they need not study nor work hard but fraudulently obtain fake degrees and become legislatures. Moreover, what is the standard of legislation that emanates from parliamentarians, who are not just illiterate but their basis of entry into the parliament is through a lie and fraud. The custodians of law in Pakistan need to take cognizance of the fact that a common criminal is taken to the sword for committing a petty crime but how a parliamentarian’s culpable and deliberate fraud is condoned. One may ask whether there are two standards of justice; one for ordinary plebeians and another for the privileged class of parliamentarians. The honourable judiciary must take precedence from the case of a former justice in Quetta, whose Matriculation degree was found fake. He not only had to resign his post but was convicted. They perhaps like to examine the precedence from the west, which we try to emulate constantly. Parliamentarians there do not have their qualifications or declaration of assets or tax returns examined since there is no trust deficit. However, if at any stage it is brought out that any of their declarations were fake or fraudulent, they are not only made to resign from their posts but face prosecution. Pakistani jurisprudence has ample provisions to punish those guilty of fraud or forgery. How and what are the constraints prohibiting our judges from sentencing those parliamentarians found guilty of forgery and fraud is anybody’s guess. Exemplary punishment must be awarded to those parliamentarians found guilty of the crime of forgery and submitting fake degrees; otherwise Pakistani parliamentarians will be the laughing stock for the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment