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 Shame and scandal has hit Pakistani parliamentarians, many of whom could lose their seats as part of an inquiry into fake university degrees that has gripped the political system and could even trigger a fresh election. The Supreme Court has ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan to verify the degrees of nearly all 1,100 federal and provincial parliamentarians after at least a dozen were found to have submitted degrees of doubtful origin. The authorities have already challenged 160 politicians over their degrees, which appear to be fake, and sent another 850 to universities in Pakistan and abroad for verification. The fake degree outbreak, not limited to any particular political party, has triggered tremors within the political class amid worries that the government could be forced to declare midterm elections.
The ruling Pakistan People's Party, having lost much of its popularity owing to its lackluster performance, is facing the danger of being unseated, if a fresh vote is taken. A comedy of errors is taking place as a tension stricken government engages in fire fighting. Nawab Aslam Raisani, Chief Minister of Baluchistan who claims to have a Master's in Political Science, made the preposterous comment: "A degree is a degree! Whether fake or genuine, it's a degree! It makes no difference!" Sardar Asif Ahmad Ali, the honorable Minister for Education, who has bent backwards to save his comrades from being pilloried by the Supreme Court, while talking to the media after the furor created by the resignation of PPP MNA Aamir Yar Warn, one of several parliamentarians involved in fake degree cases, questioned that did the Quaid or even Gandhi have BA degrees that we are questioning today's parliamentarians. The diatribe of the honorable Education Minister to denigrate two of the greatest leaders of the Indo-Pak Subcontinent by questioning their educational background and comparing them with the fraudulent entrants into Pakistan's parliament by submitting fictitious and false degrees is appalling. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was (un-partitioned) India's youngest Barrister, who had been called to the Bar from the Lincoln's Inn in London, no small achievement. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, after University went to London to study law at the University College London and to train as a Barrister. There may have been differences in the approach of the freedom movement of the two stalwarts; Gandhi preached strikes and demonstrations while the Quaid led the Muslims of the Subcontinent to Independence, without ever having crossed the threshold of the Law. Jinnah revered by Pakistanis as the Quaid-e-Azam and Gandhi, referred to as "Bapu" by Indians are both credited to be the fathers of their respective nations. The Quaid was so immaculate, prim and proper in his conduct that he had a strong penchant for adhering to the Law. The current dispensation in the Parliament is a far cry from the principles of the Quaid. Having entered the legislative body fraudulently, deceiving the confidence of the people who voted them into the revered hall of the parliament, on the basis of fake degrees is itself a cardinal sin. But it is even a greater sin to try and justify it by comparing people of the likes of Jamshed Dasti, Aamir Yar Warn et al with the founding fathers. Even the Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that judiciary has not delivered timely judgments on fake degrees issue. "Graduation condition was in place since 2002. Had judiciary given timely decisions, the prevailing situation would have not been created. The judiciary has not discharged its obligations in this regard," he said this while talking to reporters at the Prime Minister House. By putting the onus on the judiciary, the honorable Prime Minister is also hedging the issue. After all, he condoned Mr. Dasti, by first appointing him as Adviser to the Government after the judiciary had apprehended him with his fake degree and later the PM engineered his re-entry into the Parliament. One needs to draw the attention of the readers to the norms in the west, which we sometimes emulate and at times condemn, depending on our mood. No testimonials are required there to be attached by the applicant for a job - government or private. His/her word is accepted for the qualifications/experience claimed in the CV. However, if later at any stage of the career any erroneous declaration is detected, the culprit is not just asked to resign, like Dasti, or face the music, but sent straight to prison along with heavy fines and recoveries. The situation in Pakistan is so grave that various scenarios need to be studied. Apart from chaos and public shame, the saga of the fake degrees can lead to a situation that the parliament may run short of parliamentarians. Such a situation may be resolved through two options, either midterm elections or declaring the runner up of each constituency as winner. In either case the current dispensation may lose its majority and that is the reason why the ruling junta is hell bent upon salvaging the situation. That brings us to the other scenario. The Supreme Court, which is pursuing the case with the intent of establishing the supremacy of the law, is getting exasperated by the shenanigans of the government. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) is being harassed by the Sindh Government, which has arrested the brother of the Chairman HEC on corruption charges; the Law Minister is incessantly interfering in the process while the Education Minister, mentioned earlier, has jumped into the fray again by declaring that HEC does not have the authority to examine the degrees. If the situation gets murkier, the final option perhaps would be for the judiciary to ask the army to take control of the situation or if chaos and anarchy prevails, the army may be forced to step in and take charge of the country. In the opinion of this writer, that would be the worst case scenario. The politicians have no option but to stop supporting the fake degree holders. The opposition cannot play any role here, positive or negative since it has its own skeletons in the cupboard. The rule requiring politicians to have a degree is no longer in place. Introduced in 2002 by the then president, Pervez Musharraf, ostensibly to raise standards in parliament, critics saw it as a gambit to sideline opponents to his military rule. Others said it made little sense in a country where barely half the population is literate and political power usually flows from family ties and money. The degree requirement was scrapped in April 2008, but only after parliament had been elected under the old rules. Coming back to the army, the government has taken the unprecedented step of granting a full term's extension to General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani perhaps under the assumption that the army would be loath to intervene. General Kayani is perceived to be a stabilizing factor and a calming effect and is being retained to restore a semblance of sanity, without taking the reins of power in his hands. The fact remains that the fake degrees' scandal requires a harsh treatment; perhaps not to the extent of the Army taking over, but definitely under the constitutional provisions to cleanse the Aegean stables.  The writer is a columnist and TV talk-show host.
S. M. Hali is a film producer and a practicing journalist. He has contributed over 2000 articles, produced 125 documentaries and hosts a TV talk show. He is currently based in Islamabad.
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