The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday disqualified Member National Assembly (MNA) Jamshed Dasti after declaring his academic degrees as forged.
The commission announced its reserved verdict on a reference sent by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, seeking Mr Dasti’s disqualification.
The ECP accepted two separate petitions against the lawmaker and concluded that he had submitted fake academic qualifications to contest elections.
The decision was taken by a three-member bench of the ECP headed by Member Sindh Nisar Durrani. The bench had been hearing a petition filed by Amir Akbar, who challenged Mr Dasti’s eligibility on the grounds of misdeclaration of assets and fake educational documents.
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During the hearing in May, the petitioner’s counsel argued that Mr Dasti mentioned “FA” (Intermediate) in his nomination papers but neither completed Matriculation nor FA. The University of Bahawalpur, he said, had declared both his BA and FA degrees fake, while his Matric certificate allegedly obtained from Bahawalpur Board was also not genuine.
Later, Mr Dasti submitted a Matric certificate from the Karachi Board, raising further questions about the authenticity of his educational claims.
Member Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of the ECP had inquired whether Mr Dasti owned any undeclared properties, while observing that the commission held the authority to disqualify lawmakers in such cases.
The ruling marks a significant legal setback for the sitting MNA and adds to the growing list of lawmakers unseated over fake academic credentials.
