KARACHI, Nov 11: The Sindh High Court on Monday directed the Election Commission of Pakistan to submit its reply in a contempt of court application filed by former National Assembly Speaker Dr Fahmida Mirza for not conducting an inquiry into allegations of fake academic degrees against her rival candidate.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Maqbool Baqar directed the ECP to submit its reply by the next date of hearing that would be later announced by the court’s office.

The former speaker had initially moved the high court through a constitutional petition against the verdict of the provincial election appellate tribunal which had allowed her rival candidate, Yasmin Shah, to contest the general election in 2008 from NA-225, a National Assembly constituency in Badin.

Dr Mirza had taken the plea that Ms Shah was not eligible to contest the election as she had a fake bachelors degree purportedly issued from the University of Karachi.

While disposing of her petition, the court had directed Ms Shah to submit all her degrees from matriculation to graduation to the ECP within 10 days. The court had also directed the ECP to hold an inquiry and decide the matter after hearing both sides and submit a progress report.

Applicant Mirza submitted in her contempt application that she approached the ECP twice through letters for the compliance of the court orders but to no avail.

She asked the court to initiate contempt proceedings against Ms Shah who did not comply with the court orders.

The applicant also prayed to the court to direct the ECP to submit a progress report regarding its orders.

Comments sought on plea against travel ban

The Sindh High Court on Monday directed the National Accountability Bureau and other respondents to file their respective comments in a petition of former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) against restrictions on leaving the country.

Petitioner Muhammad Ali submitted in his petition that he was harassed and humiliated by the officials of the Federal Investigation Agency at the Jinnah International Airport on June 6 when he arrived from abroad.

He said that the officials seized his passport at the “airport telling him that his name had been placed on the exit control list by the interior ministry on the recommendations of the NAB.”

The petitioner, who was under investigation in a corruption case, submitted that the interior ministry did not follow the prescribed procedure before placing his name on the ECL.

He said that he was even not informed of the restriction on his travelling abroad through a letter as required under the rules and regulations.

The former SECP chief prayed to the court to allow him to leave the country for managing the admission of his daughters in Canada.

He recalled that the SHC had allowed him in August to travel abroad against a surety in sum of Rs500,000 for five weeks and later the court had granted him four more weeks to stay abroad.

A division bench headed by Justice Ghulam Sarwar Korai directed the NAB to file comments and put off the hearing to Nov 22.