HEC revokes equivalence for GB CM’s ‘fake’ law degree

HEC has also blocked the CM’s name and CNIC on its web portal

By Kasim Abbasi

May 16, 2023

Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid addressing a press conference at the CM Secretariat on January 6, 2023. —APP

ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission has withdrawn the equivalence letter for the LLB degree issued to Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan Khalid Khursheed after learning that it was “fake”.

The HEC has also blocked the CM’s name and CNIC on its web portal. An HEC letter of May 12 to Khalid Khursheed states: “This commission approached the University of London for re-verification of your LLB degree, transcript, and letter of certification provided by you in a sealed envelope to the HEC. The university has disclosed that the envelope and its contents (a copy of the degree certificate, a letter of certification, and a transcript) were not issued by the University of London. Therefore, the HEC equivalence letter of even number dated September 23, 2022, issued to you is hereby withdrawn or cancelled.”

The letter further notes that Mr Khalid Khursheed’s name and his CNIC have also been blocked and blacklisted on their online portal.

Sources who shared details with this scribe revealed that the GB CM will not only be immediately disqualified from his post, but the authorities will also initiate criminal proceedings against him.

The degree presented by the CM had glaring differences like paper quality, embossed stamp, font, and signature when his verification letter was compared with other verification letters issued by the same department at the University of London in the same time frame for other students, said the source.

Chief Minister Khalid Khursheed had attached a fake degree from the University of London in his nomination papers, after which the Higher Education Commission officially requested the University of London for verification of his degree, which was declared as ‘fake’ in an official response by the institution.

Earlier, GB CM’s lawyer Yasir Abbas had termed talk about the degree of propaganda by political opponents to malign PTI’s government in Gilgit Baltistan, saying the chief minister intends to file a defamation suit against the perpetrators of this propaganda.