PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member National Assembly (MNA) Murad Saeed, who has been accused of passing two papers in less than an hour and that too after the lapse of five years, is avoiding to appear before the committee formed to investigate the case. The three-member committee, which was constituted soon after the issue hit the media headlines, has taken control of all the relevant record and recorded statements of the people concerned. The MNA has, however, been avoiding to appear before the committee, reliable sources told The News. The PTI MNA was a student of BS fourth-year degree programme from 2005-09. But he could not clear his three papers. On March 2, two papers were arranged for him in violation of the university rules. He allegedly attempted both the papers in less than an hour. As the papers were checked and marked the same day, it triggered controversy. Murad Saeed once told the university administration that he would appear before the committee to record his statement by Saturday evening. “Later the date was extended till Sunday due to his engagements in Islamabad, but he failed to come on Sunday too and now he is expected to appear today (Monday),” the sources said. Also, he is inaccessible to media. He has not been picking up his telephone nor giving reply to the short message service (SMS). However, he has been using his Facebook and Twitter accounts to give his version of the story. It is strange that most of the documents that he has shared on his Facebook and Twitter accounts turned out to be unverified. The day the controversy was triggered, he shared his consolidated marks sheet dated March 17, 2011. The documents, however, didn't carry signature of the relevant authorities. Chairperson of the department, Prof Dr Shahida Zakir told this reporter that the transcript was not genuine. She said that it should have been countersigned by the chairperson and submitted to the examination section of the university, which then issues the original transcript. She said that the transcript was presented to her to countersign it, but she couldn't do it because the record of the three papers was missing. “Later, he (Murad Saeed) gave application for arrangement of the make-up exam, which was forwarded to the coordinator BS programme and the papers were arranged for him,” she added. According to sources, the procedure for the make-up papers was not followed. Some officials of the university, however, are of the opinion that according to the old semester rules of the university (1982-2010) there is no upper limit for passing papers of the four-year programme and no such procedure for the make-up papers. But according to the new semester rulers enforced in 2010, arrangement of make-up papers was almost impossible, an official said. The coordinator BS programme, Dr Bushra, on the other hand, has been expressing unawareness of any such application and her approval for the examination. She feared the use of unfair means in the entire process, which led to her resignation as coordinator, the sources said. On Saturday, Murad Saeed posted another unsigned letter on his Facebook page under the caption: “Leaked official statement of the department of environmental sciences submitted to the registrar, University of Peshawar with a cover letter asking him to make it public. The registrar allegedly is not willing to reveal the original letter.” This letter too doesn't carry the signature of any official and the registrar office has declined to have received any such document. Also, there were reports that the chairperson of the department, Prof Dr Shahida Zakir, has resigned from office. She reportedly stated in her resignation letter that she wanted a transparent inquiry of the matter and for the purpose she didn't want to remain in office till completion of the inquiry. Murad Saeed generated another controversy on March 4, when he deposited Rs 19,480 as his hostel dues. It means that he had not cleared all the outstanding dues against him before submission of his nomination papers for contesting the general elections in May 2014. Also, questions are being raised about the inefficiency and favouritism of the university administration, which does not allow any student to enter the hostels before submitting all the hostel charges in advance along with Rs 4,000 as refundable security amount. The question being frequently asked is as to how Murad Saeed was allowed to stay in the hostel without depositing the hostel charges.
