ISLAMABAD: Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani of The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has dismissed a writ petition filed by a director general of National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), seeking an end to departmental disciplinary proceedings against him as he was found guilty of holding a fake degree.

DG Nadra Zulfiqar Ahmed also challenged the Higher Education Commission’s (HEC) decision to revoke equivalence certificates for his degrees.

The petitioner, serving as Director General of NADRA’s Sargodha Regional Office, had sought relief against the withdrawal of equivalency for his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees, purportedly issued by Westwood College and George Mason University of the US.

The controversy began in 2023, when Nadra’s new chairman ordered a fresh verification of academic credentials of all officials.

The petitioner had previously received equivalency certificates from the HEC in 2018.

However, during the re-verification process, HEC contacted the institutions concerned, both of which denied having any record of the petitioner as a student.

Emails from George Mason University categorically stated: “We have no student record for Zulfiqar Ahmed,” and further clarified that the provided student number was invalid. Similarly, efforts to verify the BBA degree from Westwood College were thwarted as the institution had closed, and no official records could be located.

The petitioner claimed that his degrees were authentic and sought to invalidate HEC’s revocation of equivalency.

Despite being given multiple opportunities by the court to present evidence, the petitioner failed to substantiate his claims.

Additionally, his withdrawal of legal representation after adverse findings raised suspicions of intentional delay.

In hia detailed judgment, Justice Kiyani noted the petitioner’s failure to rebut the negative findings from the institutions concerned. The court also criticised the petitioner for attempting to stall proceedings, describing his conduct as “highly depreciable”.

The HEC maintained that its initial equivalency certificates were provisional and based on incomplete verification. The subsequent inquiries, prompted by complaints, revealed no academic records for the petitioner at the claimed institutions, leading to the withdrawal of equivalency.

The judge dismissed the petition, declaring that it devoid of merit, and upheld HEC’s decision to revoke the equivalency certificates. The ruling also emphasised the importance of maintaining transparency and integrity in the verification of academic credentials, especially for public officials.

A senior official of Nadra told Dawn that the authority had decided to issue a final show cause notice following the dismissal of the writ petition of Ahmed.

He said that the re-verification of the educational credentials of Nadra staffers was part of the new chairman’s drive for maintaining transparency and order in the institution. This case highlights the need for stricter scrutiny of academic qualifications in Pakistan’s public sector and raises questions about how such discrepancies had gone undetected for years.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2024