ISLAMABAD: After a lapse of seven month, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday de-notified PML-N member Punjab Assembly (MPA) Chaudhry Kashif Mehmood who was disqualified in a fake degree case.

Mr Mehmood, an MPA from PP-241 Bahawalnagar-V, was disqualified by the Islamabad Hight Court (IHC) in January 2020. Subsequently, he filed an appeal with the Supreme Court which was also rejected in November last year.

“Pursuant to the judgement dated January 31, 2020 passed by the Hon’ble Islamabad High Court … and subsequent order dated November 23, 2021 passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court ... the [ECP] hereby de-notifies Mr. Kashif Mehmood,” reads a notification issued by the ECP.

The IHC disqualified the lawmaker after receiving a report from Al-Khair University in Bhimber, AJK, confirming that he held a bogus degree of the Bachelor of Business Administration.

“The record held in the university reveals that Mr Kashif Mehmood, son of Khalid Mehmood, had neither been [a] student of Al-Khair University, Bhimber, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, nor did he graduate in the course of BBA,” the report said.

In the 2018 general election, Mr Mehmood was elected after securing 48,543 votes. Muhammad Muzaffar Khan of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf who bagged 44,184 votes came in at second position.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2022