How Ghulam Sarwar Khan got off the hook in fake degree case

ISLAMABAD: When the court case over the alleged fake degree of Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan was ripe for trial, the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) took a surprising U-turn in favour of the minister and aided his acquittal by dropping the FIR earlier lodged against him and submitting a cancellation report in the trial court.

On January 10, 2019, the LHC had withdrawn the stay order of 2017 in favour of Khan and had directed the parties to advance their final argument on March 11, 2019. On January 29, 2019, the trial court, while adjourning the case, remarked that in case the accused failed to appear on the next date of hearing (February 28), the court would issue his arrest warrants.

But on February 14, before the next hearings of both the LHC and the trial court, the then DG ACE, Hussain Asghar, ordered the minister’s fake degree case to be investigated afresh. The new inquiry officer, Muhammad Nasir Chattha, recommended dropping the case.

The DG ACE approved the recommendations of the inquiry officer with the following note: “The officer order dated December 5, 2012, passed by Chairman Board of Technical Education Lahore, which cancelled the diploma of Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan, has been set aside by the LHC, Lahore on December 4, 2013. Furthermore, initiation of proceedings after 34 years and finalisation after 44 years without any documentary proof is an exercise in futility. Report approved. Submit cancellation report in court.”

Without any delay, the cancellation report of the ACE’s earlier FIR against the minister was submitted to the trial court, which on April 11, 2019 acquitted the accused, agreeing with the cancellation report of the ACE.

Khan was federal minister for petroleum at the time the cancellation of the case report was submitted. In all forums -- including the trial court, election tribunal, high court and apex court -- the ACE had vehemently agitated that the diploma obtained by Khan was a forged document.

The earlier inquiry reports as well as the final challan in court held him guilty. But there was a sudden and mysterious change of heart.

A report dated 16.08.2017 by the Punjab Forensic Science Agency, confirming the forgeries, was surprisingly not discussed by the trial court or the DG ACE while approving the cancellation report.

It is on record that Khan had himself confessed that the diploma (number 7830) submitted by him before the returning officer, Lahore High Court and the Islamia University, Bahawalpur, was ‘erroneous’.

Khan had filed a dubious diploma in the high court as well as before the returning officer in the 2002 general elections. It was only after a Ghulam Sarwar Khan s/o Abdul Hameed surfaced that the minister had to change his mind and instead obtain another diploma under roll number 8537. The minister’s actual father’s name incidentally is not Abdul Hameed.

The following is the background of the case:

On September 1, 2001, an NOC was issued by the Punjab Board of Technical Education (PBTE) in favor of Ghulam Sarwar Khan in respect of a diploma, bearing Roll No. 7830, for the year 1974, showing him as a student of the Polytechnic College, Lyallpur. He was issued a diploma bearing serial number 004597. Ghulam Sarwar Khan was, however, never a student of the Polytechnic College, Lyallpur.

On September 5, 2001, another NOC with the same particulars was issued, with the addition of registration number GPI/LY/71-563. It was mentioned that Khan had passed the diploma from the Government Polytechnic Institute.

On February 18, 2002, Khan submitted an application form for appearing in the BA examinations from Islamia University, Bahawalpur. With serial number12, he mentioned the year of his passing HSSC (Diploma of Associate Engineering), as 1974, on roll number 7830. (This was the same roll number as claimed by Ghulam Sarwar Khan son of Abdul Hameed).

On March 9, 2003, Khan also filed an affidavit with his admission form, in which he stated that he had passed the Diploma of Associate Engineering from PBTE in the year 1975, and his roll number was 7830. Incidentally, once again this was the same roll number as claimed by Ghulam Sarwar Khan son of Abdul Hameed.

On July 26, 2002, Ghulam Sarwar Khan reportedly passed his Bachelor of Arts examinations from the Islamia University Bahawalpur, while relying on the same diploma (number 7830) as referred to earlier.

On 28 August, 2002, Khan filed the same diploma (roll number 7830), before the returning officer of NA-53, where he was a candidate in the 2002 polls. On August 30, objections were raised about the diploma of Khan by the rival candidate Ch Nisar Ali Khan. The returning officer sought a confirmation of the diploma from the Chairman PBTE with the following particulars: Ghulam Sarwar, s/o Muhammad Hayat, registration No. GPI/LY/71-563, roll number 7830, annual 1974.

On 31 August, 2002, Chairman PBTE confirmed the issuance of the diploma in the name of Ghulam Sarwar Khan bearing role number 7830, who passed the exams in 1974. On September 11, 2002, the election appeal titled Ch Nisar vs Ghulam Sarwar etc. (bearing number 103/A/2002) was filed before the election tribunal comprising Mr. Justice Tassadaq Jillani and Mr. Justice Shakoor Paracha. The following observations were made in the judgment by the tribunal: “An official of the Government College of Technology Faisalabad, who produced the record, submitted that in the provisional result card register, the parentage of Ghulam Sarwar Khan is written as Abdul Hameed Khan and not Muhammad Hayat Khan which is that of the respondent in the instant appeal.”

On January 21, 2003, Khan disowned the earlier diploma bearing number 7830, (issued to Ghulam Sarwar Khan s/o Abdul Hameed), on the basis of which he had appeared in BA examinations as well as contested elections. Khan now came up with another diploma with different particulars; the serial number was now 09000 bearing roll number 8537.

It was during the Musharraf era, when Ghulam Sarwar Khan had joined the PML-Q, that the PBTE had issued an NOC regarding corrections in parentage and roll number from 7830 to 8537. From here on, Khan disowned the diploma that he had claimed earlier and started relying on the diploma bearing the number 8537.

On January 23, 2003, Khan moved an application to the Islamia University, Bahawalpur, for the placement of this diploma (8537) in his academic record. He disowned the earlier diploma (roll number 7830) issued to Ghulam Sarwar Khan S/o Abdul Hameed. Khan himself termed the earlier diploma as erroneous.

Six years later, on November 5, 2009, an order for an inquiry into the matter was issued by the Punjab Board of Technical Education. On June 1 2009, a three-member committee found the diploma fabricated based on the available evidence.

On June 26, 2009, the probe report against Khan was sent by the Assistant Secretary Litigations, PBTE, Lahore, to the Anti-Corruption Department Punjab, for inquiry into the matter and action.

On October 17, 2012, on the complaint of Muhammad Naeem, acting forthe Assistant Secretary (Litigation), Punjab Board of Technical Education, Lahore, an FIR (No. 67/2012) against Khan and other officials of the PBTE was registered with the PS ACE, Lahore.

On December 5, 2012, the Punjab Board of Technical Education declared the Diploma of Khan as ‘fake, bogus and void’. On December 19, 2012, the Islamia University, Bahawalpur, served Khan with a show cause notice on the grounds that he cheated the university by submitting a forged diploma on the basis of which he appeared in the BA exam.

On December 13, 2012, Khan filed a writ petition (number 30777/2012) challenging the order dated December 5 2012, issued by the PBTE. On January 4 2013, the PBTE filed a report with para-wise comments in the writ. The contents of the probe report against Khan and all consequent orders leading to the withdrawal of his diploma were defended by the Board. Further, it was prayed that the writ petition filed by Khan may be dismissed.

On July 18, 2013, the Supreme Court of Pakistan suspended the notification issued in his favor by the Election Commission of Pakistan after his election on May 11 2013 as member of the National Assembly.

On December 10, 2013, the writ petition filed by Khan was disposed of and the trial court was directed to conclude the trial within three months and if need be conduct proceedings on a day-to-day basis. The impugned order dated December 5 was set aside having been passed against the principles of natural justice.

On April 1, 2014, Khan was granted pre-arrest bail by the Lahore High Court. On April 3, the Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice Jamali and Justice Saqib Nisar, recalled its interim order dated July 18 2013, regarding the suspension of Khan’s membership of the National Assembly. The trial court was directed to conclude the trial.

On June 23, 2015, the syndicate of the Islamia University Bahawalpur approved the quashing of the degree and result card of Khan. On July 28 2015, a circular was issued by the Controller of Examinations, Islamia University Bahawalpur, regarding the quashing and withdrawal of the degree and result card.

In 2016, Khan filed a writ petition (3857/2016) before the Lahore High Court and obtained a stay order. In 2017, he filed a Criminal Revision No. 161/2017, challenging the jurisdiction of the Anti-Corruption Establishment to probe the matter and got a stay order.

On August 16, 2017, the Punjab Forensic Science Agency dispatched its report. The report was submitted in the trial court as well as the high court, which granted permission to the trial court to proceed with the matter.

On July 10, 2018, the trial court summoned Khan to appear in court and face trial. He filed applications for adjournment claiming that he was busy with his election campaign. On January 10, 2019, Justice Ayesha Malik withdrew a 2017 stay order in favor of Khan and directed the parties to advance final arguments on March 11, 2019. On January 29 2019, the trial court while adjourning the case remarked that in case the accused failed to appear on the next date of hearing, the court would issue arrest warrants of the accused. The hearing was adjourned to February 28, 2019.

On February 14, 2019 the DG ACE ordered the case to be investigated afresh. The new inquiry officer namely Muhammad Nasir Chattha recommended to drop the case.

On February 22, 2019, DG ACE Hussain Asghar approved the recommendations of the inquiry officer with the following note: “The officer order dated December 5 2012 passed by Chairman Board of Technical Education Lahore, which cancelled the diploma of Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan, has been set aside by the LHC, Lahore on December 4 2013. Furthermore, initiation of proceedings after 34 years and finalization after 44 years without any documentary proof is an exercise in futility. Report approved. Submit cancellation report in court.”

On April 11, 2019, the trial court issued a judgment saying that the Learned DPG for the State argued that the case in hand had been dropped by the orders of Director General ACE and the cancellation report along with a report under Section 9(7) was submitted before the court. The court agreed with the cancellation report and thereby acquitted the accused.

On September 30, 2019, GSK withdrew his writ petition against the university.

It is relevant to mention here that it was Ghulam Sarwar Khan's statement about the ‘fake’ flying licenses of PIA pilots that has put the future of the national airline at grave risk.