SHC suspends jail term of ex-senator in fake degree case

HYDERABAD: The Sindh High Court (SHC) suspended on Thursday the Badin District and Sessions court’s verdict that handed a two-year prison term to former senator Yasmeen Shah in a fake degree case.

The Hyderabad circuit bench of the SHC granted bail to the former senator subject to submission of surety bonds worth Rs500,000. The two-judge bench comprising Justice Khadim Hussain and Justice Yousuf Saeed heard her appeal challenging the Feb 17 verdict of the Badin sessions court.

On Feb 17, the sessions court had sentenced Yasmeen Shah to a prison term of two years and directed her to pay a fine of Rs50,000. She was taken into custody following the pronouncement of the verdict and shifted to District Jail Hyderabad where she was to serve her prison term.

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Yasmeen Shah was found guilty of submitting a fake graduation degree when she was taking part in 2003-02 local government elections. Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Fahmida Mirza filed a petition against Yasmeen.

Earlier, a five-member bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), headed by the then chief election commissioner Justice (retd) Sardar Raza Khan, had declared her Bachelor of Arts degree fake.