LAHORE: An anti-corruption court on Thursday acquitted Federal Minister for Petroleum Ghulam Sarwar Khan in a fake diploma case.

The ACE had in 2012 lodged an FIR against the minister and others under sections 420, 468, 471, 218, 109 of the PPC and under section 5(2) 47 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 on charges of corruption and getting a fake diploma from the Punjab Board of Technical Education.

Other suspects in the case included PBTE former chairman, secretary and two officials. They were accused of issuing a duplicate diploma unlawfully.

Mr Khan had taken plea that the case against him was nothing but “political victimisation.”

The ACE in its previous report filed before the trial court had declared the minister guilty and stated that his indictment had been delayed due to his non-appearance.

The minister had also got a stay from the LHC against the trial court’s proceedings, which was later withdrawn for repeated adjournment requests filed by his counsel. In its report submitted to the LHC on March 1, the ACE had stated that the diploma possessed by the minister had been found genuine.

It said the allegations against the minister of having obtained a fake diploma had been found baseless during a thorough inquiry.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2019