The Multan District and Sessions Court has sentenced former MNA and Awami Raj Party chief Jamshed Dasti to a total of 17 years in prison, but he will serve 7 years as the sentences will run concurrently. The court also imposed a fine of Rs10,000 in the long-running fake degree case filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The court awarded Jamshed Dasti multiple punishments under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC):
- Section 82 PPC – three years imprisonment
- Section 420 PPC – two years for cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property
- Section 468 PPC – seven years for forgery of documents for cheating
- Section 471 PPC – two years for using forged documents as genuine
- Section 206 PPC – three years for attempting to give a bribe
The combined sentence totals 17 years, but the judge ordered all terms to run concurrently, limiting actual jail time to seven years.
As per the Business Recorder, The ECP initiated the case in 2008, alleging that Jamshed Dasti contested elections with a madrassa-issued degree claimed to be equivalent to a BA. The Higher Education Commission confirmed no record of the degree. Dasti was earlier disqualified under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution for holding fake academic credentials.
Despite previous disqualification, Jamshed Dasti re-elected in the 2024 general elections from NA-175 Muzaffargarh as an independent candidate. The case proceeded following his re-election in which he was convicted in September 2025.
The forgery of cheating targeted in Section 468 PPC that has a punishment of up to seven years. Section 420 PPC punishes cheating through fraudulent delivery of property whereas Section 471 PPC punishes the use of forged documents. It is these laws which led to conviction of Jamshed Dasti a case that is now under close observation in the future elections in Pakistan.
As per reports, Jamshed Dasti can appeal the verdict. According to legal experts, the ruling would be a precedent in the future investigations of fake degrees and would reinforce the checking of the candidates during future elections.
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