Another 'N' MNA sent packing

LAHORE An Election Tribunal of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday disqualified a PML-N MNA from NA-100, Mudassar Qayyum Nahra, for holding a bogus BA degree and directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to conduct fresh polls on the vacated seat. The court passed the orders on a petition filed by Chaudhry Bilal Ijaz of PML-Q who had lost the 2008 general election against Nahra in NA-100 Gujranwala. Earlier, the LHC was scheduled to announce its verdict on Friday last when the defence counsel sought time from the court to submit some documents in a bid to save his client from disqualification. The tribunal comprising justice Sh Azmat Saeed had also asked Nahra to resign within three days otherwise the court would announce the judgment, which might go against him. However, Nahra did not follow the instructions. The petitioner had submitted that Nahra possessed a fake BA degree and won the 2002 and 2008 elections as MPA and MNA respectively. The petitioner stated that Nahra appeared in BA exams in 1993 but was found guilty of using illegal means by a disciplinary committee of the PU, which had also disqualified him for three years. He appealed to the court to declare the respondent disqualified while invoking Article 62 and 63 of the Constitution. It is pertinent to recall that Mudassar had won the election as an independent candidate but later joined the PML-N.