The Islamabad High Court has upheld the dismissal of a Grade 19 government officer who secured public sector employment using fake academic qualifications, while also ordering the recovery of all salaries, benefits and financial privileges received during his service.
In a judgement, a divisional bench comprising Justice Muhammad Azam Khan and Justice Inam Amin Minhas dismissed the intra-court appeal filed by Wasim Afzal, ruling that he had committed fraud and forgery by obtaining and using counterfeit academic credentials.
The court held that Afzal had acquired his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration degrees through fraudulent means and subsequently relied on the fake qualifications to obtain government employment. Afzal was ordered to repay all salaries, allowances and other financial benefits received throughout his public service.
The bench also ordered that criminal proceedings be initiated against him and instructed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to take action in accordance with the law.
According to the court’s findings, Afzal first obtained employment at SME Bank in 1993 on the basis of forged academic documents. He remained there until 2009, when he left the institution under the Golden Handshake Scheme.
The judgement states that in 2011 he again used the same fraudulent qualifications to secure a Grade 19 position in the Ministry of Labour and Manpower, later renamed the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis.
The court noted that it had already declared Afzal’s academic credentials fake in 2017 and ordered his dismissal from service. Following that ruling, the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis issued notifications terminating his employment and directing the recovery of the financial benefits he had received.
In light of the latest judgement, the ministry has also instructed the FIA to proceed with legal action against Afzal, reinforcing the court’s findings that public employment obtained through forged qualifications cannot be protected under the law.
