ISLAMABAD, Dec 20: In a ploy used by many other lawmakers, an MPA from Punjab, Syeda Majida Zaidi, on Monday disowned her fake degree, available on the record of Election Commission, as the scrutiny of legislators’ academic qualifications continued.

This brought the number of such cases to around 10, causing alarm among the Higher Education Commission (HEC) officials who opposed allowing legislators the opportunity to submit degrees other than the ones on record.

Also on Monday, the case of Ali Madad Jattak, an MPA from Balochistan who was found to be holding two fake degrees, was referred by Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Hamid Ali Mirza to the DPO concerned for registration of an FIR.

Informed sources told Dawn that the case of MNA Amir Yar Waran, who has resigned to avert disqualification by the court, had also been sent for registration of an FIR. Both Mr Jattak and Mr Waran belong to PPP.

An HEC official told Dawn that the commission as a matter of principle was opposed to the policy of allowing members to change their degrees. He observed that it was not possible for political opponents to change degrees available on record and those who were doing it were hoodwinking the committee supervising the process of verification of lawmakers’ degrees. He pointed out that there were three lawmakers who had disowned their degrees and submitted new ones, which were also found to be bogus like the previous ones.

He said there is a woman legislator, who disowned her degree on record and provided a degree that was issued not only after the last date for submission of nomination papers, but even after the polling day. “It is very clear that the fresh degree had not been submitted with the nomination papers and giving time to such cases was not something wise,” he remarked. He said there were some others who submitted fresh degrees which were still to be verified.

Prominent constitutional expert S.M. Zafar observed that those accused of holding dodgy degrees deserve to be given a fair opportunity to defend themselves. “They should be asked to produce evidence in their support, and if they come out with another degree accusing that it had somehow been changed, the other degree should be verified,” he stressed.

The EC spokesman and head of the committee, however, said the degrees provided by those who disowned their degrees available on record had been given to HEC for verification to ensure there was no miscarriage of justice.He said those who were failing to provide any credible defence would not get unnecessary adjournments and their cases would be closed.

Advocate Amir Saeed Rawn appeared before the committee headed by Election Commission spokesman Mohammad Afzal Khan on Monday on behalf of Syeda Majida Zaidi and claimed that the degree available on record did not belong to his client. He submitted a certificate purportedly issued by Jamia Rizvia, Tanzimul Madaris, Multan, in 2000. He claimed that a copy of the certificate had also been submitted with the nomination papers.

Counsel for MNA Ghulam Dastgir Rajar, who has also disowned his degree available on record, asked the committee to send his client’s second degree to HEC for verification. The focal person of HEC, Rahim Bux Channa, said that the same had been sent to the Sindh University for verification and a reply was still awaited.