PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Tuesday disqualified Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MPA Mian Ziaur Rehman over fake degree by declaring him ‘neither honest nor righteous’ and directed the Election Commission of Pakistan to de-notify him as an MPA from PK-54, Mansehra II.

Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Mohammad Younas Taheem gave the order while accepting three identical petitions filed by some voters of the said constituency, including Syed Nadir Shah, Syed Shaoib Ali Shah and others. The bench had reserved its judgment few days ago after the completion of the arguments by all parties.

Senior advocates Babar Awan and retired justice Sajjad Hassan Shah had represented the petitioners.

The petitioners contended that the respondent, Mian Ziaur Rehman, had been declared as returned candidate during the 2013 general elections from PK-54 Mansehra but he was not honest, righteous, sagacious, non-profligate person within the meaning of Article 62 (1)(f) of the Constitution.

They said in the 2008 general elections, while filing his nomination papers, Mian Ziaur Rehman had declared himself a graduate on the basis of a sanad of a seminary of Gotki, Sanadul Faragh Shahadatul Alia, whereas in the 2013 general elections, he declared he was a matriculate.

The petitioners requested the high court to ask the MPA under what authority of the law and Constitution, he was holding the office of Member Provincial Assembly from PK-54 Mansehra-II and that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) be directed to set aside his notification as MPA.

Earlier, a rival candidate had filed an election petition before an election tribunal challenging the election of Mian Ziaur Rehman on the same grounds.

The election tribunal had on Oct 23, 2013, accepted the said election petition and disqualified him. However, he had filed an appeal before the Supreme Court, which on technical grounds had set aside the verdict of the election tribunal, but had not discussed merits of the case.

In a detailed judgment of the case, the high court bench ruled: “the judgment of the duly constituted election tribunal on merit still holds the field as the apex court gave the findings in respect of non-compliance of the mandatory provisions of section-54 and 55 of the Representation of People’s Act, 1976, by holding that the Election Petition was not properly verified on oath and as such the declaration of a competent Court/Tribunal, regarding the position of educational qualification, is in the field as yet.”

The court ruled: “Even before this Court, the allegations that the returned candidate in his nomination form for General Elections of 2008 declared himself to be a graduate, while in the nomination form for succeeding General Elections of 2013, he had declared himself as Matriculate and that both these forms if juxtaposed would result in his disqualification.”

The bench observed that it was on record that in the nomination form of Mian Ziaur Rehman for 2013 elections by evading and concealing the educational qualification had disowned the declaration as made in the nomination form of 2008.

It ruled that the evasive declaration as given in the nomination form of 2013 and 2008 clearly reflects that in 2008 nomination form his educational qualification as BA on the basis of a Sanad and that, too, Shahadatul Alia, was baseless and fabricated.

The bench explained that the said sanad was obtained in 1996, whereas he did his matriculation in 1996, got admission in intermediate course in the Islamabad College for Boys, Islamabad, in 1996 but was found absent in the Intermediate Part-I examination held in 1997 and later appeared but failed in four papers and finally purportedly did his BA in 2006.

It added that the said returned candidate did his matriculation in 1996 at the age of 16 years and strangely enough obtained Sanad Shahadatul Alia in the same year without obtaining and possessing two primary sanads, Shahadatul Sanvia Amma and Shahadult Khasa, but the same are missing and as such the Deeni Sanad i.e. Shahadatul Alia that form basis for BA degree on the face of it seemed to be fake one.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2017