MR. JUSTICE ABDUL HAMEED DOGAR, HCJ MR. JUSTICE FAQIR ...

CONSTITUTION PETITION NO. 1 OF 2008
AND CMA NO. 994 TO 996 OF 2008 72
considered sufficient. None of the former Soviet Union
Countries, now C.I.S, require any education qualification
whatsoever. The British parliament, which claims to be
mother of all Parliaments, does not require its members to
have any educational qualification whatsoever nor des the
US Congress or Senate require its members to come armed
with formal education. In Zaire, 4 years post Primary
Education or adequate political or administrative
experience is good enough for members of Legislative
Council, and in Zambia and Zimbabwe to be able to read
and write English are considered sufficient. All other
countries, which do not find mention in the preceding
paragraphs, do not demand any requirement of formal or
informal educational qualifications. It may be interesting to
note that even Sri Lanka where majority part of its
population comprises formal graduates has not thought it
proper to impose restriction of formal education. The logic
is simple; every elector, as far as possible, should be able
to become a candidate and offer himself to be chosen as a
representative.”
The learned Attorney General next referred to an Article entitled “A
facility for fraud” by I.A. Rehman published in the Daily Dawn of
October 04, 2007. The Article opens with the following remarks:-
“As the life of the National Assembly born in 2002 comes to
a close, a review of its performance is in order. This
Assembly, the more powerful of the two Houses of
parliament, was born with a disability. The condition that
only graduates were eligible to sit in it had eroded its
representative character. Besides, this condition proved to
be a facility for fraud and subversive of representative rule
and justice both.”
The author of the article has taken the view that the elected
representatives are not expected to be experts who can be hired from
the market; they are only required to be aware of their electors’ needs
and aspirations. Anyone qualified to vote can be a candidate for
elective office subject only to restrictions of age. Specific to the
requirements of B.A. Degree, the author has made the following
comments:-