Sindh High Court Rejects Disqualification Petition Against Shazia Marri After 13 Years

KARACHI:The Sindh High Court has dismissed, after 13 years, a petition seeking the disqualification of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MNA Shazia Marri over an alleged fake degree.

The court declared the petition inadmissible, ruling that under the Constitution, a high court does not have the authority to disqualify a member of Parliament.

The petitioner’s lawyer alleged that Shazia Marri had used a 2002 degree belonging to another student with the same name. The court noted that a similar objection had also been raised before an election tribunal during the 2018 general elections.

The Election Commission of Pakistan rejected the objection concerning the degree in 2022.

The court further observed that an appeal against the election tribunal’s decision had been filed before the Supreme Court but was dismissed in 2023 after the appeal was withdrawn.

Shazia Marri’s counsel argued that the degree issue had already been examined before the Election Commission on the basis of evidence and that the commission had previously rejected the petition concerning her degree.

The Sindh High Court held that, under the Constitution, election tribunals do not have the authority to declare an individual “truthful and trustworthy” in the manner claimed in the petition.

The court ruled that a constitutional petition alone was insufficient to disqualify a person and, in light of Supreme Court orders, declared the petition not maintainable.