Degree controversy
ISLAMABAD: In response to a letter circulating on social media, purportedly from Karachi University’s (KU) controller of examinations regarding the law degree of Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, and the subsequent filing of a reference with the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), the IHC is expected to issue an official statement addressing the campaign against the judge.
Sources revealed that IHC judges are set to convene a meeting on Saturday to discuss the matter. On Friday, multiple social media activists and journalists shared the letter and the reference against Justice Jahangiri, which was allegedly sent to the SJC.
Informed about the letter, judges and senior IHC officials were offered a chance by the court administration to issue a rebuttal, although Justice Jahangiri has not yet approved this action. It was also claimed that the IHC administration had reached out to Karachi University for clarification.
The letter, widely circulated on social media, reportedly responds to an application seeking information under the Sindh Transparency Right to Information Act, 2016. It states that candidate Tariq Mehmood obtained his LLB degree in 1991 under enrolment number 5968.
However, it also notes that Imtiaz Ahmed enrolled in 1987 under the same enrolment number, while the transcript for LLB Part I was issued under the name Tariq Jahangiri.
Additionally, Tariq Mehmood enrolled for LLB Part I under a different enrolment number, 7124. The letter did not declare the degree bogus but termed it invalid, explaining that the university issues one enrolment number for the entire degree programme, making it impossible for a student to have two enrolment numbers for one programme.
Justice Jahangiri is among six judges who previously complained to the SJC about their own chief justice, accusing the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of interfering in judicial affairs.
Their complaint included allegations of spy cameras being detected at the entrance and bedroom of a judge, a matter that was reportedly conveyed to the chief justice but received no response.
Justice Jahangiri gained prominence in May last year when he provided blanket protection to former prime minister Imran Khan in criminal cases, barring the police from arresting him even in future cases.
Recently, he has been hearing election petitions from PTI runners-up from Islamabad. However, the winning PML-N candidates expressed no confidence in the judge, accusing him of bias in favor of PTI candidates.
They filed applications with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which transferred the election petitions to a tribunal established under a presidential order amending the Elections Act.
However, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq suspended the ECP’s order and remanded the election petitions back to Justice Jahangiri. These petitions are scheduled for hearing on July 9.
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