University of Peshawar (UoP) has awarded a degree to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) former member of the National Assembly, Murad Saeed by violating rules and regulations, a local media outlet reported on Monday.
The former MNA reportedly sat and passed three exams in less than an hour.
The degree was issued to him by Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Asif Khan, who bypassed all relevant authorities to issue the degree during summer vacation.
A senior official of the university said that the vice chancellor of the university was appointed during the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on the understanding the Saeed would be awarded a degree. The official added that University Act and BS Regulation 2010 were violated with regards to the examinations.
According to the university, Saeed was a student at a BS (Hons) programme at the university between 2005-2009 but did not pass his final exams. He was elected as a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from Swat in 2013.
Saeed undertook an examination in March 2015 in a clear breach of BS Regulations 2010. He submitted three papers within 30 minutes and the results were declared the same day.
The Pakhtun Students Federation (PSF) first raised the issue with regards Saeed’s degree. Saeed approached the Peshawar High Court (PHC) when an inquiry was initiated by the university administration. Saeed said in the petition that he passed all his courses within the 2005-2009 period.
Dr Rasul Jan, former vice chancellor of the university ordered an inquiry that determined examinations were a clear violation of rules and that the result be cancelled. However, on March 3, 2018, the PHC referred the case to UoP Syndicate but Dr Khan, without any consultation with members of the syndicate, constituted a committee to investigate and silently resolved the issue.