Ahsan Bhoon's degrees are valid

Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Awan, in his capacity as chairman of the PBC, had directed the verification of the LLB and BA degrees of candidates whose academic records were available with the bar council.

In response, the university administration, through the Controller of Examinations, informed PBC Secretary Gulzar Ahmad on January 21 that the LLB and BA degrees of six PBC members had been verified. A copy of the letter, now available with The Express Tribune, was also sent to the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

The university verified the degrees of six PBC members, including Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, Hafeez ur Rehman, Chaudhry Ahsan Bhoon, Tahir Nasrullah, Shafqat Mahmood and Syed Qalbi Hassan. Punjab's letter, Ahsan Bhoon's roll number in the LLB examination was 828 and his registration number was 81-GCH-8.

He secured 321 out of 700 marks, placing him in the second division. The LLB first annual examination of 1985 was held in March 1989. The university also verified Bhoon's BA degree.

The letter states that his roll number was 7563 and registration number 81-GCH-8. He obtained 406 out of 800 marks, securing a second division. The BA second annual examination of 1983 was held in July 1984.

It is learnt that, following a request from the PBC, the university had also verified the LLB degrees of six members, including Ahsan Bhoon, in January 2021. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz's husband, Capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar, has publicly questioned the professional credentials of presidential candidate Syed Amjad Shah and PBC leader Ahsan Bhoon.

Safdar has submitted a complaint to the secretary of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), seeking an inquiry into Bhoon's "educational certificate, enrollment and professional credentials". In his complaint, Safdar alleged that information had come to his knowledge raising questions about the authenticity of the law degree on the basis of which Bhoon entered the legal profession.

He claimed that the degree could allegedly be "fake, bogus or otherwise incapable of lawful verification".

Safdar urged the commission to call for and independently verify the original record, arguing that the matter could not be ignored as Bhoon was a sitting member of the JCP."The Commission considers the persons who may ultimately sit in judgment over the rights, liberties, property, and disputes of the people of Pakistan," Safdar said in his complaint.

It is not clear whether theJCP will intervene in thismatter or not. The campaign has generated debate within legal circles over Safdar's repeated targeting of Amjad Shah and Bhoon and whether his campaign is being conducted independently or has the backing of the PML-N leadership.

It is learnt that one section of PML-N lawyers is fully backing Captain Safdar.