Fake Degrees Scandal

[Tayyab1796]

Does that justify a ban that has no constitutional basis (regard for the law perhaps?) or do sympathies towards a usurper mean that we blanket cover an entire political system? At least I choose not to support either usurpers or legislators who cheat and forge documents.

Competent, visionary and articulate and radical leaders don't emerge suddenly. You don't grow parliamentarians when there are no parliaments for decades (including rubber stamp ones) and there is no progressive political debate or democratic culture within the society. Only after a continuous process of democratic governance, where citizens play their part and seek accountability and demand better governance, can we look forward to an economically, socially and politically progressive society. As long as we continue to blanket cover "corrupt politician" and teach this to our kids (breeding hate?), we might never see an effective political culture. What the future demands from us today is to give better policy inputs, demand accountability from our local legislators, demand to meet our legislator for effective debate frequently, encouraging democratic norms in our society and unless we create an environment of democratic norms within the social structure, there is no hope. This requires commitment, perseverance and resolve from the public.

There is hope and although the proportion of feudal parliamentarians hasn't declined considerably, there are notable exceptions who stand out as symbols of honesty, integrity and eloquence.

You did not choose to become one. Neither do any of your or my colleagues want to become public officials. It goes without saying that we are complacent when it comes to this and pointing fingers is just a way for us to absolve our selves of our apathy towards the state of affairs.

Can some of them spell 'public service' . Majority of them are doing just the exact opposite of those 7 principles.

 

[sparklingway]

and then what?

i made a 'one liner' a rhetorical question and u have run-off on a tangent for no reason at all !

Because we're discussing the necessities and principles of public service rather than the topic at hand now. I'm more than happy to read your constructive arguments outside the demands of this thread. Stating the problems is obvious. Crying out foul and blaming others whilst absolving the entire community responsible is easy.

 

[fatman17]

Who in the entire world can stack up to the seven principles?

Our legislators are incompetent and their legislative participation symbolizes that with only a handful being actively involved in legislative reform or public accountability. The parliamentarians in the National Assembly of France following the French Revolution weren't the upright, honest, selfless and competent ones the mobs would have wanted. However, over time and with public participation they did create a genuinely progressive political environment that breeds legislators who're upto many tasks assigned to them.

Don't force me to go on a derailing tone. You know it's not a welcome outcome of any debate. The issue here is their fake degrees. The scums should be thrown out. We can deal with the rest later and we should take them to task.

there are many - u will be surprised.

 

[sparklingway]

there are many - u will be surprised.

I can guess the names you can mention. However, everybody has skeletons inside their closets and nobody can stack up to such rigorous demands.

You do know the context in which these were penned down?

Can some of them spell 'public service' . Majority of them are doing just the exact opposite of those 7 principles.

This is what I like to call typical elitist urban upper middle class yammering. Not that I can agree or disagree, but it's the usual blabbering that emanates from the drawing rooms of the well-to-dos and the cafes their children fill whilst sipping their expensive coffees.

 

[fatman17]

Because we're discussing the necessities and principles of public service rather than the topic at hand now. I'm more than happy to read your constructive arguments outside the demands of this thread. Stating the problems is obvious. Crying out foul and blaming others whilst absolving the entire community responsible is easy.

they go hand-in-hand.

 

[fatman17]

I can guess the names you can mention. However, everybody has skeletons inside their closets and nobody can stack up to such rigorous demands.

You do know the context in which these were penned down?



This is what I like to call typical elitist urban upper middle class yammering. Not that I can agree or disagree, but it's the usual blabbering that emanates from the drawing rooms of the well-to-dos and the cafes their children fill whilst sipping their expensive coffees.

if you say so!!!

 

[sparklingway]

if you say so!!!

Perhaps, we can agree to disagree but remember these were penned down in the wake of the biggest political scandal of the decade to hit the world's oldest parliament. That perhaps states that there's an inherent difference between jackboots on the battlefield and election to legislative office. The demands are different, the nature is entirely different and the purpose is entirely different.

Extensive public accountability however makes sure that such things are eliminated. That requires contribution from the citizens and willingness of the public, something inherently lacking in the classes that are economically assertive in our society since they choose to label their apathy as symbols of pride.

PS: I cited jackboots since selflessness can perhaps be associated only with soldiers giving their life for nations as far as I see it.

 

[ejaz007]

Fake degrees exposure to restore parliament’s dignity: CJ
Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Asks how long we will bank on lies and wrongdoings; Ramday says issue brought a bad name to Pakistan; feels ashamed after reading reports; SC seeks educational record of PML-N MPA

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Tuesday remarked that they were restoring parliament’s dignity and prestige by exposing fake degree holders.

He said, “It’s our parliament. We have to bring the whole nation to basic ethics. How long will we bank upon lies and wrongdoings!” He made these observations while conducting proceedings on an appeal of a former Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MPA against a decision of the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, over the issue of possession of a fake degree.

The chief justice told his counsel that they had already ruled that the primary duty vested with the returning officers, who were responsible not to let such people enter into assemblies. Everyone desirous of participating in elections first appeared before returning officers with an oath that they were not concealing facts, he added.

A three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to produce the academic record submitted by the disqualified member of the Punjab Assembly Malik Yasir Raza of the PML-N by July 16.

It also issued notices to respondents on an appeal of the former MPA against a decision of the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, which had disqualified him on the issue of possession of fake educational certificates.

Wasim Sajjad, the counsel for the petitioner, defended his client’s position over the issue and prayed to the apex court to set aside the impugned order of the LHC. Raza was a returned candidate on PP-13 Rawalpindi.

On June 30, Justice Khawaja Imtiaz Ahmed of the LHC Rawalpindi Bench, in a short order, declared him disqualified on a petition filed by Ishtiaq Mirza, a PPP candidate.

The petition had challenged the validity of Raza’s Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) obtained from the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education in 1995 and his graduation degree and matriculation certificate. —APP

Our correspondent adds: Earlier, Wasim Sajjad submitted that evidence of three witnesses were recorded. One of them, from the federal board, revealed that Yasir was a student of a college at Warsak Road, Peshawar, but the LHC in an amazing manner had declared Yasir Raza a fake degree holder on the grounds that his picture on the intermediate admission form did not match.

Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday inquired from Yasir Raza’s father Malik Muhammad Raza from which school his son matriculated. He replied, “I don’t know because at that time I was out of the country for performing Haj.” Justice Ramday asked, “You are even not aware of your own son’s educational career. How do you claim that his degree is genuine?”

On the intervention of the chief justice, Malik Raza told the bench that his son matriculated from Dennys High School, Rawalpindi, but he could not succeed and the next time he privately appeared in the exam but again could not succeed, failing in Biology.

Later, he did his intermediate from Peshawar. The CJ asked Wasim Sajjad that Malik Yasir was not even a matriculate. Wasim told the bench that it was the policy in 1992 that if a candidate could not succeed in an elective subject, he was considered to have passed the exam.

The bench expressed their ignorance regarding such a policy and asked the counsel to produce all such record before the court on next hearing with the observation that it was the court’s duty to maintain the sanctity of parliament and the assemblies that present the country’s image abroad.

Wasim Sajjad said that the LHC did err while declaring Yasir a fake degree holder without any evidence. He informed that Yasir did graduation from Al-Khair University. During the course of hearing, Justice Ramday expressed his displeasure, saying that he read news in some foreign newspapers regarding fake degree holders issue in Pakistan and felt ashamed over the fact that this illicit practice had earned a bad name for the country. Meanwhile, the court directed Wasim Sajjad to provide the educational record of Malik Yasir Raza and adjourned the hearing till Friday.

Fake degrees exposure to restore parliament’s dignity: CJ

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Jail main dalo ...salo ko ... chuki piswau

Fake degree leker parliment main bethein hain 10lakh / day on expense fro these losers daily allowance

 

[fatman17]

The lexicon of corruption

Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Raoof Hasan

Of late, serious efforts are underway to introduce an innovative lexicon of corruption in the country that, with one stroke of dictatorial proclamation, wishes away all blemishes from the faces of some who have been roundly condemned on this count in the past.

While everyone can see a crime having been committed by those who submitted fake or forged degrees to the Election Commission to qualify for contesting the last election, President Zardari, his team of cronies and a vociferous group of the legislators under the chop disagree. Instead of moving against individuals who committed the crime, the interests of these transgressors are being promoted and the PPP high command is bending over backwards to have them returned to the assemblies. The Dasti saga is a sickening episode where the prime minister of the country campaigned for the disgraced legislator and huge funds to the tune of millions from the national exchequer were committed to the development in his constituency to lure the voters. His subsequent victory made Mr Zardari proclaim: "Do as you may, our Dastis will win…", or the Balochistan chief minister's incomparable boast: "A degree is a degree, be it genuine or fake".

As a set pattern, those members of the assemblies who are being thrown out by the courts because of fake degrees, or those who are resigning in fear of being ousted, are being given party tickets to fight the bye-elections by the PPP. The weird argument being forwarded is that since graduation is no longer a prerequisite for participating in the elections, its benefits should be accrued retrospectively. Therefore, people who submitted fake degrees have done no wrong.

In the process they forget that notwithstanding the desirability or otherwise of the law, these people actually submitted fake or forged documents to meet the eligibility criteria to fight the election. If they had a problem with the relevant law, they should have moved against it instead of meeting its requirements. In other words, a new interpretation of crime is being envisioned that would pin the blame on the inadvisability of a certain law rather than on those who violate it.

What is being fastidiously promoted is that only such laws should be enacted that facilitate criminals to commit crimes and also provide them with ways and opportunities to escape the prospect of punishment. As long as this new concept is not acknowledged, the leading players of the incumbent administration have instructions to sack those who do not comply, show blatant disregard for judgments that do not agree with this point of view and be arrogant and mulish in the face of the dictates of the prevalent law. Soon, therefore, we should witness the phenomenon that those who do not adhere to the concept of living by crime are the ones who have to suffer the agony of incarceration while the criminals disdainfully sit on judgment.

On ground, the numerous manifestations of this criminal mindset have started sprouting. Quite literally, fiefdoms have emerged governed by criminal mafias that are engaged in perpetuating and furthering the concept of self-interest. These mafias have also penetrated various echelons of governance and are impacting decision-making in no small measure. Our society is increasingly riddled with signs of anger and frustration and seems to be fast breaking down into an unruly and ungovernable chaotic mass. Symptoms of intolerance and violence are visible everywhere. Not a day passes without reports of brutal murders, mostly either with the connivance of the law enforcement agencies or with their subsequent collusion to help the criminals escape the dragnet of justice. The continuing wave of terrorism reflects vast divisions within the establishment and an inability of the state apparatus to confront the scourge.

All this happens as the rulers remain busy in their shenanigans to hide their ill-gotten billions stashed away in lands far off. A few efforts to make them accountable have so far remained unsuccessful as a culture of defiance and arrogance reigns supreme. Explicit orders from the apex court are being blatantly ignored and insulted under one guise or the other. Federal departments and national institutions are instructed to systematically defy the court injunctions. The state apparatus that is constitutionally bound to abide by the court adjudications is on a warpath with all efforts to introduce the culture of observance of law. A vituperative slander campaign has been unleashed against the judiciary in general and some judges in particular. The recent letter written by a functionary of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to the Supreme Court is an avid reminder of the criminal intent behind such government moves which are aimed at dismantling the constitutional, legal and moral edifice of the state.

There is a method to this madness. All this is being enacted to help one person and his close cronies and cohorts escape the grip of justice. In the process, the state is showing growing signs of collapse and disintegration. May be that is the ultimate objective as, in that event, it would be far easier to find acceptance to the new lexicon of greed and corruption to further perpetuate the interests of this band of transgressors.

The writer is a political analyst based in Lahore. Email: raoofhasan@hotmail.com

 

[fatman17]

Perhaps, we can agree to disagree but remember these were penned down in the wake of the biggest political scandal of the decade to hit the world's oldest parliament. That perhaps states that there's an inherent difference between jackboots on the battlefield and election to legislative office. The demands are different, the nature is entirely different and the purpose is entirely different.

Extensive public accountability however makes sure that such things are eliminated. That requires contribution from the citizens and willingness of the public, something inherently lacking in the classes that are economically assertive in our society since they choose to label their apathy as symbols of pride.

PS: I cited jackboots since selflessness can perhaps be associated only with soldiers giving their life for nations as far as I see it.

where have we disagreed - you are making your own assumptions in this debate to impose your POV.

maybe as a 'mod' u feel its your inherent right to do this!

case closed from my side.

 

[fatman17]

Fraud, perjury and brazen shamelessness

Wednesday, July 14, 2010
By Ikram Sehgal

To avoid severe action by the Supreme Court (SC), MNA Jamshed Dasti resigned posthaste when his university degree was discovered to be fake. In blatant defiance of the SC verdict, the PPP hierarchy again awarded a party ticket to Dasti who went on to win the bye-election. Using fake documents anywhere is a crime, compounded by perjury in passing it off as authentic. With both the president and PM openly remonstrating that using such fraud and perjury to enter the Parliament does not constitute a crime, it has opened a Pandora’s box in becoming a test case for the rule of law. How can any person who is clearly guilty of such misdemeanors be acceptable to responsible party leaders (and associates thereof) for a seat in parliament? If that is not contempt for the SC, nothing is!

One is not surprised as to why the federal law minister, meant to be in the forefront of enforcing the rule of law in the land, ‘the lady doth protest too much’ (with apologies to Shakespeare). As an affected party, Dr (?) Babar Awan has a vested interest in glossing over and/or condoning such crimes. As far back as Nov 2008, The News broke the story about his doctorate from supposedly a ‘Monticello University’ being fake and fraudulent, that particular entity had no charter even as an educational institution, let alone doling out PhDs. Why is the Election Commission (EC) deaf, dumb and blind to such wrongdoings?

The obnoxious Punjab Assembly resolution passed unanimously by our elected legislators clearly shows their character and mindset, that is why democracy is frequently put to the sword. The major political parties are now scrambling to distance themselves from this atrocious piece of the parliamentary business, the fact remains that every political party present in the assembly was a party because it was unanimous. That is only the proverbial trip of the iceberg and is not confined to a few rotten apples alone, with scores of our legislators sitting over destiny of this nation suspected to have bogus credentials, the resolution has snowballed the deliberate fraud and perjury into a scandal of outrageous proportions. The three ‘Js’, ‘Jenerals’ (to quote Pakistan’s spelling bee champion PML-N MPA Sanaullah Masti-khel), Judiciary and Journalists, were responsible for the ‘conspiracy’ to unearth the truth about the Parliamentarians with fake credentials! With Nawaz Sharif, quickly recognizing the dangers starting to backtrack smartly (including calling for Mastikhel’s political head on a platter), Mastikhel’s future is as a scapegoat. He was only a mouthpiece, the despicable and dishonorable Punjab Assembly resolution was passed in presence of brother Shahbaz Sharif. Given the rules and procedures of assembly business, the resolution could not have been done entertained Chief Minister’s tacit consent. It now appears he may have been the driving force.

One is not surprised about such contempt for the media or for the rule of law. The PML-N mindset has not changed since their storming of the SC in 1997 to forestall a verdict against then PM Mian Nawaz Sharif when Shahbaz Sharif as Chief Minister bussed in party stalwarts from Lahore to Islamabad. Most PML-N leaders pleaded innocence till positively identified by CCTV tapes desecrating the SC by performing ‘Bhangra’ in the SC corridors. To quote my article, ‘The Ugly Face of Fascism’ (Nov 29, 1997), Mian Sahib’s detractors have been saying ad-nauseum that he has people around him who with a tendency to use brute force to shove their outrageous ideas into PML policies. Regretfully if Mian Sahib does not rein them in, then PML will change for the worse. Regretfully what we saw on Friday went beyond that. Eleven years later, and despite the Sharifs having suffered privations and exile, very regretfully the mindset remains the same. Committing fraud and indulging in perjury has become a national pastime. From the declaration of assets to campaign spending, candidates routinely indulge in blatant falsehood. The Wealth Tax and Income Tax returns of many politicians and landowners sitting in parliament would put the tax returns of a salaried employee in the middle management cadre to shame. No wonder accountability is so difficult in a country where most documents are falsified and almost all statements or cross-examinations under oath are false and/or tainted, are we surprised why corruption is so deeply rooted in every sphere of our lives?

To quote my article, ‘Perjury’ of Feb 12, 2010, for personal gain, whether monetary or otherwise, false representation of facts and distortions, a gentlemanly phrase for “outright lies”, is the order of the day. Giving false statements under oath is perjury plain and simple, and perjury is a punishable offence. The Oxford Dictionary defines Perjury as ‘an act of willfully telling an untruth when on oath’, and goes on to use the words, ‘lying, mendacity, mendaciousness, falsification, deception, untruthfulness, dishonesty, duplicity’. In simple terms, a perjurer is a criminal and must be treated as one. In most countries, perjury carries exemplary punishment, ruthless enough for people to try and avoid giving a statement under oath lest that statement (or part thereof) be detected to be false.

All over the developed world, the drop in corruption has been commensurate with convictions for perjury. Automatic and severe punishment acts as a deterrent of sorts. In Pakistan every enquiry, every investigation, every trial, every arbitration, etc reeks of rampant falsification with absolute impunity, whether it is statements before the Oath Commissioner, particularly in the matter of real estate, as paid (or motivated) witnesses in any trial before the court etc. How many times have our honourable judges made an example of ‘professional’ witnesses? While those with fraudulent credentials deserve punishment what about those responsible for selecting such candidates for Parliamentary seats, is it not their responsibility to ensure such fraud is not perpetuated? The tragedy is that our uniformed young men in Swat and South Waziristan, and innocent civilians throughout the land, are dying by the hundreds while such frauds and perjurers keep enjoying the luxuries of power. The judiciary and the journalists having raised the flag, maybe it is time for our ‘jenerals’ to display solidarity with the same spine as that displayed by those they are sending into battle (including many generals) to die and suffer injuries for the sake of this country.

And as the Punjab Assembly resolution has shown, such criminals become brazen and shameless when democracy becomes a sham and there is no accountability. One has no quarrel with the vast percentage of honourable men and women in the Punjab Assembly (and in other assemblies), but they do have a duty to force their black sheep colleagues out of the business of legislation. Or one day someone else will do it for them! The implementation of SC’s verdict declaring NRO null and void has become vital for Pakistan’s survival as a civilized state in the comity of nations. Democracy can only be saved by cleansing the political process of criminals. Repeating a phrase from an earlier article, ‘when criminals function in the name of justice, justice itself becomes a crime.’

 

[GUNNER]

The wrong question

By George Fulton

July 14, 2010

The writer is a freelance broadcast and print journalist (george.fulton@tribune.com.pk)

Ok here’s a pop quiz question to get your grey matter working. What do the Queen, Bill Gates and eminent Pakistan journalist and former editor of The News Ghazi Salahuddin all have in common? Answer: Neither one of them have a degree. Nor, for that matter, did Steven Spielberg, Abraham Lincoln, Steve Jobs, John Major or Harry S Truman.

We can go back further in history. Moses, Jesus and the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) did not have a tertiary education. It’s debatable whether they were even literate. But that does not stop many millions in this world from following their teachings and actions. These are people to admire, respect and follow, yet today they wouldn’t get a seat in the Balochistan provincial assembly. Conversely, the likes of George W Bush, alleged credit card thief Shumaila Rana and our very own chief minister of Balochistan, Nawab Aslam Raisani, all
supposedly have degrees. Yet would you want any one of them representing you?

Raisani recently rebuked reporters saying “A degree is a degree! Whether fake or genuine, it’s a degree! It makes no difference!” Ok Mr Raisani, please allow me to perform open heart surgery on you whenever you are ill. I’ve always wanted to be a doctor. Doesn’t really matter that I’m not qualified, does it? A doctor is a doctor, qualified or otherwise, nah? Despite apparently having an MA degree in political science, pro-cheating Raisani has clearly proven ill-suited to run a ghusalkhana let alone the largest province of this great country.

President Musharraf’s rule requiring politicians to have a degree was always misguided, even if honourable in theory. The impetus for its introduction was to raise standards in parliament but that didn’t disguise the fact it was undemocratic, elitist and ill-advised. In a country where barely half the population is literate, the degree law turned us from a democracy into an oligarchy overnight. As if having a degree automatically qualifies you for high office? Between Abdul Sattar Edhi (no degree) and Senator Sardar Israrullah Zehri – he of ‘burying women alive is part of our tradition’ infamy (who purportedly has a degree although it’s highly suspect) – who in your educated opinion has the welfare of the people at heart?

But as a nation we always ask the wrong questions — whether of our parliamentarians or prospective sons-in-law. Do they come from a ‘good’ family? Good often being a highly subjective term. Are they rich? Do they have a high-quality education and a good career? Are they influential? They could beat up our daughter on her wedding night for all we care as long as he has a job in a bank or a multinational.

If I ever have the opportunity to grill a potential son-in-law, I would want to find out about his character and his values, not his bank balance. Is he an honest, decent man? Will he treat my daughter with love, care and respect? Will he make her happy? These are surely questions worth asking of our leaders too? Instead of looking at their educational qualifications we should look at their character and moral fibre. Will they look after us? Will they treat us with care and deference? Are they honest, decent men?

Unsurprisingly, this parliament of cheats rescinded the degree requirement in April 2008 not out of any genuine desire for meritocracy but to save their own skins. Perhaps a new law should take its place, a law which doesn’t bar entry to those without privilege, family ties or money. Maybe this law could instead demand an independent audit of all our parliamentarians’ assets and their tax returns from the start of their adult lives. Anyone who fails to pay their taxes or who is deemed to have knowingly, grossly and fraudulently ripped of the state will be barred from political office. However, you don’t need a degree to know that such a law will never be passed and for now we can start by asking the right questions of those we choose to elect.


Published in The Express Tribune, July 14th, 2010.

 

[sparklingway]

Number of fake degrees reached 47: HEC
Wednesday, 14 Jul, 2010

ISLAMABAD: According to Higher Education Commission (HEC) the number of fake degrees reached 47 on Wednesday, while the degrees of some key politicians also declared wary.

HEC sources said that along with 47 fake degrees, some degrees were also declared as doubtful.

The degrees of Faryal Talpur, the sister of President Asif Ali Zardari, Minister of State Nabeel Gabol, Shamshad Sattar, Mukesh Chawla and Faisal Raza Abidi were declared as suspicious. The HEC also demanded more records for the doubtful universities.

HEC received 294 degrees after confirmation from the respective universities and sent 107 degrees for cross checking to the universities.

Punjab University has asked seven more days for the confirmation of the received degrees. — DawnNews

 

[bc040400065]