Return all the money you earned! Supreme Court roars
As they say there is an eerie calm before the storm. After a few weeks of quiet, the Supreme Court is on to it again. This time asking a PML-N legislator possessing a fake degree to return salaries, allowances earned as an MPA. Expect more out of this drama now.
Fake degree legislator ordered to return salary, allowances
Dawn, August 5, 2010
ISLAMABAD, Aug 4: After weeks of silence on the issue of fake degrees, the Supreme Court, which had stirred up the controversy by ordering verification of educational certificates of parliamentarians, indicated on Wednesday how it wanted politicians who had used counterfeit degrees to be treated.
The court ordered that Haji Nasir Mehmood, a PML-N member of the Punjab assembly from Gujrat (PP-111) whose degree was found to be fake, should return the salary and allowances he had earned as a parliamentarian.
“The burden to prove a valid, genuine and bona fide qualification lies on the appellant,” the judgment, which had been reserved earlier, said.
Some observers here said the order meant that the parliamentarians accused of holding fake degrees would themselves have to prove their innocence.
The court called for exemplary punishment for legislators who betrayed the trust of their voters by using fake degrees to contest election. “How a visionary leadership could emerge in the country in such circumstances?” it asked.
Authored by Justice Javed Iqbal, the verdict said: “Nothing good can be expected from such fakers who not only betrayed the confidence of voters of their constituency, but cheated them in a shameless manner…. How can they watch the legitimate interest of people with a dead conscience which never pricked while defrauding the nation? They deserve exemplary punishment so that such shameful instances could not be repeated.” Dismissing Haji Nasir Mehmood’s appeal for being without merit, the court asked him to hand over the money in two weeks. “In case of failure, the money calculated will be recovered as arrears of land rev enue,” the order said.
Mr Mehmood had obtained the degree from the University of East in Hyderabad, Sindh. In his appeal, he claimed that the relevant record could not be produced because it had been misplaced and damaged because the university building had been inundated during a previous flood.
Mr Mehmood had filed the appeal against the Feb 3 order of an election tribunal which unseated him.
PML-Q’s Mian Imran Masood, who had filed an election petition under Section 52 of the Representation of Peoples Act 1976, said the degree held by Mr Mehmood was not recognised by the Higher Education Commission.
Although the apex court continued hearing and reserved its judgment, it did not stay the by-election which was won by Haji Imran Zafar, a close relative of Mr Mehmood, in March this year. The court also asked the Election Commission to initiate criminal proceedings against the appellant and said that criminal waste of taxpayers’ money could not be allowed.
About the validity of the degree issued by the University of East, the verdict held that it could be safely said that the degree of the university was not recognised. The universi ty, the judgment noted, was established on July 28, 2004, but amazingly certificates relating to 2003 (spring semester) and 2003 (summer semester) were issued before the institution had come into being.
“This speaks volumes about the negative approach of the university. We have no hesitation in our mind that the degree (Exh.DA) produced by the appellant with nomination papers was not recognised by the HEC and, accordingly, it cannot be equated to that of a valid degree and, therefore, he was not qualified under the law to contest the election due to lack of requisite qualification,” the judgment said.
You’re stating as if this is some wrong measure. He cheated his way, he’s a forger. He must pay back the salaries and allowances.
Well done SC, we need these kinds of verdict across the board. These thieves had used every trick in the book to come to the power, to loot the wealth of Pakistan further for the enrichment of their own families. They pay no taxes on their black incomes and black assets; they use illegal means to then transfer their black money out of the country. Depriving the country even the benefits of investment and job creation if the money is re-invested with in Pakistan.
The goons and supporters of PPP on this forum, which boldly is named critical supporters of PPP, should know, your corrupt politicians are hurting Pakistan in more than one way.
1- Black Income, not declared, never becomes official part of the GDP.
2- It denies Pakistan of vital taxes, direct and indirect.
3- Because it never become the part of official money supply figures, and in case if it is earn through export or smuggling, deprive country of valuable foreign exchange.
4- Black money within the country causes inflation.
5- Black money when transferred out from the country using “Hundi” or “Hawala” deprived country of the opportunities of reinvestment within the country.
6- Lack of reinvestment causes unemployment, breaking the cycle of growth which is vitally important for any country’s economy.
7- According to estimates almost 75% of Pakistan economy is black, i.e. it is never registered officially in the figures. If only half of it becomes white or enter official stream, Pakistan budget deficit will be wiped out and Pakistan should be in surplus.
8- You don’t need to beg from IMF and World Bank to pay for your expenses. I am sure when these PPP goons leave the Government we are going to uncover massive frauds of monumental scales. I see absolutely not one honest PPP leader on the TV. The amount of BS I hear from them is incredible. IT is quite apparent none of them have a clue how to run the country.
9- I feel sad for the masses of Pakistan, who had been deliberately deprived of educations by these goons in different parties. Majority of people don’t even understand the complexities and realities of the situation properly.
10- How PPP governs with People like Yusuf Raza and Zardari is an open secret. Not one single PPP minister is capable of doing his/her job. It is a complete mess and chaotic affair. How these people come to power by using jingoistic slogans of “Shaheeds” and “Jayalas” is beyond me. What these “Jayalas” gets are only crumbs lifted from the floor. They wait for their Government to come in power so they can have little bit food at the end of the food chain, i.e. do their share of loot of the Country’s resources.
11- PPP wants to govern by sending crooks like Kaira, Babar Awan, Sharmila Farooqi, Fauzia Wahab and Faisal to the media so they can pierce your ears from their verbosity. These dogs have such courage to mouth obscenities and lies whenever they appear on TV shows or issue press statements. The calibre of these PPP thieves is so evident. I hope Pakistani people are seeing the true face of PPP, they don’t know what governance is and how to run the country. They only know how to loot the country.
12- I hope and wish Pakistani people become wiser about these crooks and thieves, and never select them again. They are no good; absolutely they are scum of the earth.
13- Swiss Government has lifted the secrecy from the Bank Accounts maintained in Switzerland; according to an estimate around $200bn belongs to Pakistani corrupt people in Swiss banks. This amount could be as high as $400bn.
14- This is enough to wipe out Pakistan’s external debts 4 to 5 times over. IF this money is brought back to Paksitan then back taxes are imposed on these thieves who accumulated these massive bank accounts, Pakistan’s trade and budgetary deficit will be wiped and huge surpluses will appear. Resulting in better educations, health and more security for its nationals.
15- Please think long and hard, can these people bring you the prosperity, education, health services and security you all deserve? Your country is not poor by any means, it has every potential to be amongst the affluent countries in the World, if govern properly, looting stops and looted money is brought back to the country.
16- These corrupt politicians will never do anything for the masses; these crooks have no sympathy or connection with you. They are looking for their own benefits and of their children, they will take away every penny from you, if it is left to them, deprive you even oxygen to breath if it is possible for them. They use Democracy to fool you; as a matter of fact they are the biggest fascists in the world.
17- Zardari is never going to worry about you at all, he is the biggest thief of them all, he is in it for his own benefits and he will always protect his plans and agendas for betterment of himself and his family.
18- Be aware of King Bilawal, he is the chip of the old block; he is no different from his “Dacoit” father. If anything he will be miles ahead of him. Your future is in your own hands, reject these crooks and select people who are honest and poor like you so then can understand your sufferings. Select them and then insist that laws are created to safe guard against the looting of national wealth. Insists on implications of the Laws regardless of anyone’s social standing. There cannot be different rules and laws for different people. This is your country, protect it from these thieves, nobody from outside will come and help you to grab your country back from these looters hands. It is time to wake up before it is too late. This PPP government is useless, can’t you see, they cannot govern on any level? What problems have they solved and what situations have they sorted in two and half years? They will never solve anything, when they say give us full 5 years, they don’t mean 5 years to sort out your troubles. They mean 5 years to loot the country and milk it dry completely. For them the job of looting is only half done. They cry foul, how come we are not given the full 5 years to loot the country? This is unfair; others had longer turns for their looting.
19- When their mindset is such, can you the Pakistanis expect any “Khair” from these liars and thieves? Please think before it is too late for all of you.