Pakistan: Arrest warrant issued against Gilgit-Baltistan’s former CM in fake degree case

A senior Civil Judge has issued an arrest warrant for Khalid Khurshid Khan, the former chief minister (CM) of Gilgit-Baltistan in a fake degree case, according to ARY News.

The senior Civil Judge, Hidayat Ali, issued a bailable arrest order for the former Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister due to his repeated absences.

In order to obtain an equivalency certificate from the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Islamabad, Khalid Khurshid–who was also the president of the Gilgit-Baltistan branch of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)–was accused of obtaining a lawyer’s licence from the Gilgit-Baltistan Bar Council by submitting an affidavit and a “fictitious” law degree from the University of London, according to ARY News report.

A three-member bench of the Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Court rendered a decision in July 2023 regarding a petition brought up by Shahzad Agha, a member of the GB Assembly, disqualifying Khalid Khursheed Khan in a fake degree case, the report said.

The petitioner had claimed that Khursheed ought to be disqualified in accordance with Articles 62 and 63 since his law degree was a forgery.

Although Khurshid claimed to have graduated from London with a legal degree, this could not be confirmed, according to ARY News.

Khalid Khursheed had been in office since December 2020 and is considered a close aide of PTI chairman Imran Khan.