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GB CM Khalid Khursheed disqualified in fake degree case

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  • Khursheed disqualified under Articles 62 and 63.
  • Three-member larger bench issues verdict.
  • PPP’s Agha had filed plea against Khursheed.

GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan’s Chief Court Tuesday disqualified Chief Minister Khalid Khursheed — a leader of the embattled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) — for holding a fake degree under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution of Pakistan.

A three-member larger bench — Justice Malik Inayat Ur Rehman, Justice Jauhar Ali, and Justice Mushtaq Muhammad — announced the verdict on the plea filed by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) GB Assembly member Ghulam Shahzad Agha.

The former CM’s lawyer, Asadullah Khan, argued that the articles do not apply to GB, but the complainant’s counsel informed the court that they applied to the region — based on which the court issued its judgment.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) had in May withdrawn the equivalence letter for the LLB degree issued to the chief minister after learning that it was “fake”.

Then, the commission also blocked and blacklisted his CNIC and name on its web portal, according to The News.

“This commission approached the University of London for re-verification of your LLB degree, transcript, and letter of certification provided by you in a sealed envelope to the HEC,” HEC wrote in a letter to the ex-CM.

“The university has disclosed that the envelope and its contents (a copy of the degree certificate, a letter of certification, and a transcript) were not issued by the University of London.”

“Therefore, the HEC equivalence letter of even number dated September 23, 2022, issued to you is hereby withdrawn or cancelled.”

The degree presented by Khursheed had glaring differences like paper quality, embossed stamp, font, and signature when his verification letter was compared with other verification letters issued by the same department at the University of London in the same time frame for other students, a source told The News.

Khursheed had attached a fake degree from the University of London in his nomination papers, after which the HEC officially requested the University of London to verify his degree, which was declared as “fake” in an official response by the institution.

The now-former chief minister had joined the PTI in 2018 and was elevated to the position of Diamer- Astore’s divisional president.

When GB headed towards general polls in 2020, PTI’s former GB president Jafar Shah passed away due to coronavirus.

The sudden death created a vacuum, and during that time, given his qualifications, which have now turned out to be fake, PTI nominated Khursheed for GB’s top post.

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Imran Khan’s bail request in the Toshakhana-II case has had its objections dismissed.

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In the Toshakhana-II case, the Islamabad High Court has dismissed the objections to PTI founder Imran Khan’s bail request.

IHC instructed the registrar’s office to schedule the hearing for the case for Monday.

Imran Khan’s attorneys, Shaheena Shahab, Ayesha Khalid, and others, arrived in court today as IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the case.

The registrar’s objections to the plea were questioned by Justice Aurangzeb. In the Toshakhana-II case, Imran Khan submitted a bail application, according to counsel Ayesha Khalid.

Justice Miangul said that previous rulings in circumstances comparable to this one adhered to the consistency principle. In this instance, the petitioner was a man, he added.

Bushra Bibi was given bail because she was a woman, according to the justice, and an application like this one was denied yesterday.

Given that the case action date was November and the power of attorney was executed in July, Justice Aurangzeb raised a concern about the timing.

Justice requested the help of Advocate Shah Khawar in this case.

When an applicant was held in jail, Shah Khawar retorted that it was standard procedure to obtain signatures on required documents, such as a power of attorney.

Imran Khan’s attorney, Shaheena Shahab, asked the court to send out notices regarding the bail plea. A judge named Aurangzeb said that the law would be observed.

Following arguments, the court dismissed the registrar office’s objections and ordered that the case hearing be scheduled for Monday.

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PTI presents seven nominations to Imran Khan for the judicial commission.

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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has proposed seven individuals to its founder, Imran Khan, for consideration as founding members of PTI for membership in the next Judicial Commission.

None of the nominated individuals are attorneys; rather, the roster includes four Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) and three senators.

The proposed MNAs are Umar Ayub, Asad Qaiser, Ali Mohammad Khan, and Aamir Dogar, while the senators are Shibli Faraz, Mohsen Aziz, and Aun Abbas Bapi. Sources suggest that the Judicial Commission will include one opposition member from both the National Assembly and the Senate.

The PTI founder will evaluate and endorse two names from the suggested list, which will then be sent to the Speaker for future actions.

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Miller confirmed that Biden’s administration got a letter from a congressman requesting the release of the PTI founder.

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Following his removal as prime minister in 2022, Khan started a protest movement against a coalition of his enemies led by current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Since then, he has been in jail since August 2023 and has been involved in hundreds of cases.

In response to ARY News’ question over the congressmen’s letter during a media briefing in Washington on Monday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “We will respond in due course to the members.”

The United States wants to see Pakistan maintain its democracy, Miller stated.

The release of the PTI founder’s wife and sisters was a result of a meeting between the US Deputy Assistant Secretary and a Pakistani government representative in Islamabad, which was further questioned during the press briefing.

“I won’t be addressing that,” Miller said when asked if the United States was involved in their release. Miller did, however, affirm that the conference included the defense of Pakistan’s basic liberties and rights.

Sixty-two members of the US Congress urged President Joe Biden on October 24 to support the release of Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, and other political prisoners.

The congressmen, who included well-known Muslim members Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, said in their letter that the Biden administration should ask Pakistani authorities to guarantee the safety of PTI founder Imran Khan.

They also underlined that US policy should concentrate on Pakistan’s human rights situation and asked that US ambassadors attend the PTI leader’s incarceration.

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