LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday withdrew a 2017 stay given to Federal Minister for Petroleum Ghulam Sarwar Khan against proceedings before an anti-corruption court regarding his fake graduation degree.

Justice Ayesha A. Malik withdrew the stay order in the light of repeated requests for adjournments by minister’s counsel.

Khan had filed a petition challenging the jurisdiction of the anti-corruption court to hear a case about his alleged fake degree of graduation. He had alleged that the trial court was holding proceedings against him at the behest of then government of the PML-N.

In 2012, the Anti-Corruption Establishment had lodged an FIR against Khan under sections 420, 468, 471, 218 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code and under Section 5(2) 47 Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 over charges of corruption and having fake diploma from the Punjab Board of Technical Education.

During Thursday’s hearing, the legal adviser of the technical board stated the petitioner’s counsel had been delaying the proceedings by seeking repeated adjournments. He urged the court to withdraw the stay order.

Justice Malik accepted the board’s plea and revoked the stay against the proceedings of the trial court and directed the counsel of both sides to come up with arguments on March 11.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2019