By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: A court in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan disqualified chief minister on Tuesday for holding a fake law degree, a move that could trigger a political crisis in the Himalayan region, lawyers said.
Khalid Khurshid Khan, the regional president of fortmer Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf party, was barred from holding public office for five years by a three-judge bench of the Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Court.
The court acted on a petition filed by Ghulam Shahzad Agha, a lawmaker from the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), who challenged Khan’s law degree and sought his removal under the constitution.
The petitioner’s lawyer, Amjad Hussain, said Khan had submitted a fake degree from a bogus American university to the Gilgit-Baltistan Bar Council to obtain a lawyer’s license.
He later submitted another degree from a London university in court, which was also not verified by the authorities, Hussain said.
“Today, truth has prevailed and it has been proven that the degree submitted by Khan was fake,” Hussain told reporters after the hearing.
Khan’s lawyer, Asadullah, said they would appeal against the court’s order in the Supreme Appellate Court of Gilgit-Baltistan.
“We are waiting for the detailed verdict and will then file an appeal against it,” he said. “If there is any other option available, we will also opt for that.”
The PTI said in a statement that it had decided to stand firm with Khan and that it had a clear majority in the region.
The statement said former premier Khan had called a meeting of all the party lawmakers in Gilgit-Baltistan to devise a strategy to deal with the new challenges.
“Insulting the mandate of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, and attempts to rob it will be vigorously resisted,” the statement said, adding that the party would soon announce a new candidate for the chief minister post after consultation with Imran Khan.
Earlier on Tuesday, nine opposition lawmakers also submitted a no-confidence motion against Khan in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly, according to the assembly secretary Abdur Razzak.
Gilgit-Baltistan is part of the disputed Kashmir region that is claimed by both Pakistan and India. It has been under Pakistani control since 1947 but has not been given full constitutional status or representation in parliament.
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