SC strikes down graduation condition
By Saad Saud

ISLAMABAD—Supreme Court (SC) has declared null and void graduation condition for becoming legislator. A citizen Muhammad Nasir had filed constitutional petition through his counsel Kamran Murtaza in SC pleading graduation condition was discriminatory and it constituted breach of fundamental rights.
A larger bench of SC headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Abdul Hamid Dogar heard the petition. CJP while admitting the petition for regular hearing issued notice to Attorney General (AG) Malik Qayyum for April, 18.
Kamran Murtaza counsel for Muhammad Nasir during the hearing of the petition on April, 18 argued graduation condition was discriminatory and it was applicable only to general elections-2002. This law has lost its utility and parliament has also not approved it .
AG Malik Qayyum also termed graduation condition a discriminatory law. He presented statistics on the graduates population saying only 250000 people were graduates among more than 800 million voters. Allowing only 250000 persons to contest elections is discriminatory , he argued. I don’t consider it good, he added.
At the inception of hearing on Monday, Kamran Murtaza advocate pleaded BA condition is inequitable as it renders million of people ineligible to participate in the elections.
Giving arguments AG also described graduation condition discriminatory. PML-Q had challenged it in the court when the condition was imposed, he submitted. But all the facts were not stated before the court. This issued would have not existed if the supreme court had been informed about all the facts, he argued.
The larger bench headed by CJP justice Abdul Hamid Dogar gave short order after two hours of completion of hearing of constitutional petition filed by Muhammad Nasir. The verdict said graduation condition was in conflict with article 17 and 25 of the constitution and it was violative of fundamental rights, therefore it is declared null and void. Details decision will be announced later.
Political and judicial circles have lauded the decision of the Supreme Court regarding ending of B.A qualificatiozn for contesting the elections and has termed the decision as a prudent and democratic decision by the Supreme Court.
Former state minister Tariq Azeem expressing his views on a Private TV Channel alongwith other renowned leaders lauded the decision and said that with the literacy in the Country being a mere 2%, and 23% non-graduates, about 98% would stand as ineligible to exercise their democratic obligation.
“Besides many persons got into habit of obtaining a B.A degree by fair/unfair means, which would hopefully end”, he maintained. The Attorney General of Pakistan, Malik Abdul Qayyum termed the restriction as being in direct contravention to article 16 and 26 of the Constitution, and had been rightly been abolished by Supreme Court unanimously.
Justice Tariq Mahmood condemned the condition as being an undemocratic ploy, not implemented by masses’ consent or any parliament legislation. However Dr. Muhammad Aslam Khaki advocate favored the condition, holding it responsible for the surfacing of the educated elite within parliament. And was a blow to the derogatory feudal system. Sheikh Rashid also favored the abolishment of the condition, and termed it as a prudent decision of the Supreme Court.
In its short order announced by the bench after an interval of more than two hours, the bench said, “For reasons to be recorded later, this petition under Article 184(3) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 is allowed. The provisions of Article 8A of the Conduct of General Election Order, 2002 (Chief Executive’s Order No. 7 of 2002) and clause (cc) of subsection (1) of section 99 of the Representation of the People Act, 1976, which lays down that a person shall not be qualified to be elected or chosen as a member of Majlis-e-Shoora (parliament) or a Provincial Assembly unless he is at least a graduate possessing a bachelor degree in any discipline or any degree recognized as equivalent by the University Grants Commission under the University Grants Commission Act, 1974 or any other law for the time being .