ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) will be completing verification of lawmakers’ degrees on Friday, but the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is yet to work out its modus operandi to deal with lawmakers who have lied about their educational qualification. So far the HEC has determined that 37 lawmakers have forged their degrees.

Despite the passage of almost three weeks after the Supreme Court asked the ECP to appoint a senior officer for supervising the ongoing verification process of lawmakers’ degrees, the latter has failed to implement the order.

On June 24, the Supreme Court had ordered the ECP to initiate action against lawmakers accused of having used fake degrees to contest the election.

The apex court, in its order, said that the ECP was required to depute an officer to supervise the entire exercise and sessions judges, who would conduct these trials, would complete the probe in three months in consonance with the spirit of elections laws. However, until this day, the ECP has yet to work out a mechanism for implementation of the apex court’s order.

Earlier, the ECP had taken the position that it could not act against lawmakers unless the Senate chairman or speakers of the National Assembly or provincial assemblies sent references against them. However, after the Supreme Court ruling, the ECP top officials believe the ECP can invoke criminal proceedings against the lawmakers who have submitted forged academic documents to the ECP.

Under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), faking a degree means forgery, an offence that carries a fine and punishment of two years.

Talking to Dawn, ECP Secretary Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan claimed the commission was ‘painstakingly’ working on modalities for implementation of the court order.

At present, Chief Election Commissioner Justice Hamid Ali Mirza is in Karachi and will be unveiling the commission’s plan next week about how it would deal with the lawmakers who had lied about their educational qualification. About the appointment of an ECP official for supervision of the verification of degrees, Mr Ishtiaq said it would also be done in near future.

Justifying the delay in implementation of the court’s ruling, the secretary said the HEC was yet to forward its report on checking of lawmakers’ academic qualification and the ECP’s assignment would start afterwards.

However, independent observers don’t buy this ECP argument. They said that the ECP, as per ruling of the Supreme Court, should have immediately appointed some senior official for the supervision of the entire process of checking of degrees and meanwhile could work on procedures for its future course of action.

When asked if the ECP could invoke PPC for initiating criminal proceedings against legislators who had submitted forged documents, the secretary said everything would become clear when the commission’s policy was unveiled on the implementation of the Supreme Court order next week.

Sources close to the development told Dawn that following the Supreme Court ruling, the law ministry was keeping a close tab on the ECP, fearing that once the latter being an autonomous body announced its procedure for implementation on the court order it would not be able to affect that.

They said that differences between the federal government and the Election Commission over the interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling about lawmakers holding fake degrees were causing a delay in the implementation of the court order.

Courtesy by dawn.com