ISLAMABAD: In a move to cleanse parliament of fraudsters and cheaters, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has warned 249 legislators, including MPs, ministers and members of provincial assemblies, that if they didn’t get their degrees verified within 15 days, they would be treated as fake degree-holders.
The ECP has also warned them that it would initiate criminal proceedings against them. The move is likely to bar fake degree-holders from contesting the upcoming general elections.
A letter issued by ECP on February 7 to all the MPs, including several federal and provincial ministers and influential party leaders, says that the commission has taken a serious notice of the delay on part of the MPs to submit their degrees to the Higher Education Commission for verification.
Verification started in 2010 after reports about several fake degree-holders in parliament and provincial assemblies.
But it could not be completed despite an order by the Supreme Court due to non-cooperation of MPs and federal and provincial governments.
Of the total 1,095 MPs, degrees of 749 have been verified as genuine and those of 55 MPs declared fake.
Degrees of 19 MPs could not be verified because of court cases.
A total of 249 MPs have not yet submitted their degrees for verification. Internews
