ISLAMABAD  - A parliamentary delegation, headed by Law Minister Farooq H Naek, on Thursday called on Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G Ebrahim in Islamabad and discussed the various aspects of the election process.
Naek held out assurances the government would provide all-out assistance to the election commission for conducting free, fair and transparent elections.
Giving his views on the fake degrees issue, the minister asked the election commission to adopt an appropriate procedure for the verification of academic degrees. Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Javaid Laghari was also present in the meeting. The eight-member parliamentary delegation was comprised of Bushra Gohar, Zahid Hamid, S Iqbal Qadri, Zafar Baig Batani and others.
Later talking to the media, Farooq Naek said the degrees would now be verified by the Higher Education Commission. He said it would be necessary for election candidates to submit their academic degrees with nomination papers. The ECP would send the degrees to the HEC for verification, Naek said, adding, "The Election Commission of Pakistan will take legal action if a degree was forged.”
 Orders of the Supreme Court in about the verification process of the degrees would be followed completely.