I WAS horrified to know that the Higher Education Commissiom chairman has sent a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner confirming that 54 former lawmakers have fake educational degrees.

The final count of fake degree-holders is bound to increase as the verification process of the remaining 189 former lawmakers remains to be completed.

Are we really rejoicing the completion of the term or the fact that such a large number of our elected members succeeded in hoodwinking their entry into parliament on false pretences and successfully remained our lawmakers undetected for such a long period.

I welcome the suo motu notice taken by the Chief Justice and request him to take a strict action against the offenders and slap a lifelong ban on them from taking part in any activity of public representation.

ASAD JAMIL Karachi

Action against losers THE Chief Justice has taken suo motu notice of the news reports regarding fake degrees of 54 legislators. I would request the Chief Justice to direct the Eelection Commission of Pakistan to also scrutinise the degrees of those contestants who lost in the last elections and are now recontesting.

This is important as graduation is no longer a condition this time and any wrongdoing done earlier on this count will be noticed.

MOHAMMAD AMJAD Karachi

Postal ballot A GOOD turnout is possible if the postal balloting system is introduced for those who cannot visit their hometowns for voting such as people who are sick, are on essential duty, are too poor to afford to travel or are too old and frail. I may add here that most people want to cast their vote in their respective constituencies and not anywhere else. If approved, postal ballot papers can be issued to the voter by the local election office on production of original CNIC and the voters list can be marked online through a computer.

Will the ECP be kind enough to consider this possibility in consultation with the political parties?

M. AKRAM NIAZI Rawalpindi

Of billionaire sardars NAWAB Aslam Raisani, the former chief executive of the poorest province of Balochistan, is the richest of the chief ministers who recently handed over power to the caretaker government.

According to the statement filed by Mr Raisani to the Election Commission of Pakistan, the former Balochistan chief minister has wealth exceeding Rs522 million at the end of fiscal year 2011-12 compared to the last year’s Rs351 million.

His assets include two Harley Davidson motorcycles, one Mercedes sports car, one Hummer H2 and a house in Islamabad. In total, he owns eight properties valuing at Rs143 million. He also owns a security company worth Rs150 million, a coal mine worth Rs7 million and an annual income of about Rs10 million from agriculture land.

What the Baloch people should understand is that their plight is not because of the successive government but owes to the mismanagement of their resources by their own sardars and leaders.

DR IRFAN ZAFAR Islamabad

Choosing the right candidate THIS is to draw the attention of the people about the upcoming election. Keep in mind the previous decade and its impacts on our economy and the resulting standing of the country worldwide, please elect the best candidate to run the country in the right manner, keeping corruption at bay by keeping sincere, honest and patriotic personalities in mind.

True leaders are not those who could run the country addressing the nation via telephone or just by listening to pre-recorded speeches of some martyred leaders. We really need some leaders who can understand the need of the time and its importance, so choose the right candidate.

RIAZ AHMED Karachi