The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday dismissed an appeal filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) former MPA Raja Shaukat Aziz Bhatti against his disqualification.
A three-member bench comprising Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel, while announcing the verdict, upheld the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The commission had disqualified Bhatti for possessing and presenting a fake degree.
Bhatti had won the 2013 general election from Rawalpindi’s PP-4 constituency of Gujar Khan tehsil on PML-N’s ticket.
Later, Major (r) Iftikhar Mehmood Kayani lodged a complaint with the ECP, seeking Bhatti’s disqualification and a by-election in the constituency. A five-member commission, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Justice (r) Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan, announced the short order in June 2017 de-notifying the MPA.
Earlier, the ECP declared Bhatti’s graduation degree fake and ordered criminal proceedings against him. Bhatti was accused of submitting the degree of another person with the same name. However, he challenged the ECP decision in the Supreme Court. Bhatti is the son of late Justice Abdul Aziz Bhatti, who remained a PPP MNA during Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s period.
Published in Daily Times, May 23rd 2018.
