MUZAFFARGARH: A district and sessions court in Multan has sentenced former member of the National Assembly Jamshed Dasti to seven years’ imprisonment in a case over a forged BA degree, court officials said on Monday.
The ruling, delivered by a Multan sessions judge, stems from charges that Dasti submitted falsified academic credentials when filing nomination papers. Dasti — who leads the Awami Raj Party and was elected from NA-175 (Muzaffargarh) — was convicted under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution in relation to the degree matter, the court record shows.
In separate findings, the court also convicted Dasti under Sections 420 (cheating) and 471 (use of forged documents) of the Pakistan Penal Code and other related provisions. Those additional convictions bring his aggregate sentence to 17 years, of which 10 years are bailable, officials said.
The judgement comes roughly two months after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified Dasti and declared his National Assembly seat vacant.
In May, the ECP had ordered verification of the lawmaker’s academic certificates through the Karachi Education Board as part of its probe into the matter.
Dasti faced multiple legal challenges related to his alleged false declarations. Petitions against him were filed by Ameer Akbar, Zulfiqar Dogar and Sardar Faizul Hassan, and he was prosecuted under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution and Sections 4, 9 and 137 of the Elections Act, 2017, according to court and ECP records.
The Multan court’s sentence completes a sequence of administrative and legal steps that stripped Dasti of his parliamentary membership and now exposes him to a lengthy custodial term.
Defense lawyers signalled plans to explore legal remedies, while election authorities prepare for any further formalities arising from the conviction.
