QUETTA: The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) has arrested five officials of the Balochistan Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Quetta and a student after a scandal of fake academic documents and the alleged involvement of some board officials in it.

ACE officials said the initial investigation revealed that five board officials were allegedly involved in tampering with records and academic credentials and, therefore, were taken into custody.

They were identified as additional controller Noor Ahmed, deputy controller Munawar Hussain, assistant secretary Muhammad Aslam, and assistants Saeed Ahmed and Abdul Qadeem.

A student, Saeedullah, was also taken into custody, who was allegedly given a benefit by board officials by tampering with his education documents.

The action followed the order of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) which had ordered an inquiry into the matter in response to a constitutional petition.

A team comprising ACE officials started an investigation into the matter, and they found during the probe that a student from Washuk, in collusion with some board officials, unfairly obtained a forged and tampered marks sheet and used that document to get admission to Bolan Medical College in Quetta.

The team collected relevant documents, recorded statements of officials involved and submitted an inquiry report.

The investigation confirmed the student, Saeedullah, got admission to Bolan Medical College on the basis of a fake marks sheet, as his actual marks fell short of the merit criteria.

The report also revealed that some board officials abused their authority, breached trust, committed forgery, and tampered with official records.

Based on the inquiry report, the BHC ordered registration of a case and initiation of legal proceedings against all suspects involved in the scandal.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2025