Islamabad High Court has disqualified Justice Tarik Jahangiri from holding the position of a judge, ruling in a highly publicized degree scandal case. The three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court Srafraz Dogar and Justice Azam Khan, delivered the verdict without Justice Tarik Jahangiri’s presence in the courtroom. The high court directed the Ministry of Law to de-notify Justice Tarik Jahangiri and ordered his removal from the position.
The court found that Justice Tarik Jahangiri did not possess the correct LL.B degree at the time of his appointment as a judge, making his appointment illegal. The original records from Karachi University’s registrar revealed that Jahangiri’s degree was canceled, and he had attempted to obtain a fake enrollment form to receive his LL.B degree. The court also discovered that Jahangiri had used two different names, Tarik Jahangiri and Tarik Mahmood, to take his LL.B exams, and that he had been banned from taking the exams for three years due to his involvement in cheating and intimidating examiners.
The Islamabad High Court’s decision follows Jahangiri’s attempt to challenge the high court’s order in the Federal Constitutional Court. Jahangiri’s lawyers, Akram Sheikh and Barrister Salahuddin, had submitted three petitions to the high court, but the court’s decision has put an end to Jahangiri’s tenure as a judge.
The development has triggered a significant reaction from the MQM, with its leader, Dr. Farooq Sattar, stating that the court’s decision is a major blow to the party’s efforts to establish community policing in Sindh. The MQM had been a key player in the protests against the Sindh government’s failure to provide basic amenities to the party’s supporters.
The news comes as the Sindh government faces mounting pressure from the MQM and other opposition parties to address the issue of fake degrees and corruption within the province’s educational institutions. The Sindh government has announced plans to crack down on institutions that fail to comply with the law, following a recent court order.
In related news, the Chief Minister of Sindh, Murad Ali Shah, has expressed Pakistan’s commitment to adhering to the Indus Water Treaty, while the MQM has claimed that its leader, Shumaila Imran Farooq, is recovering in a London hospital due to cancer.
In international news, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced his willingness to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine, while the Indian media has reported that Sajid Akram, a businessman from Pakistan, has been arrested in India for allegedly entering the country six times in the past three decades.
The Islamabad High Court’s decision to disqualify Justice Tarik Jahangiri is a significant development in the ongoing saga of corruption and fake degrees within Pakistan’s judiciary. The move is expected to have far-reaching implications for the country’s legal system and its efforts to combat corruption and ensure accountability.
