MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government has revoked the state subject certificate, allegedly obtained fraudulently by a former minister, who had managed to evade action for the past five years.
According to a notification issued by the Board of Revenue on Thursday, the certificate of Asim Sharif Butt, a resident of Androon Haram Gate, Mohalla Tillanwali, Multan, was revoked retrospectively from its date of issuance Dec 9, 2004 in pursuance of a cabinet decision taken on October 26.
Copies of the notification were sent to various departments, including the Accountant General’s office, apparently to halt any payments to him.
Mr Butt was elected on a PTI ticket in the July 2021 elections from LA-42 (Kashmir Valley-III), one of the 12 seats reserved for refugees from India-held Jammu and Kashmir settled in Pakistan.
He parted ways with the PTI in April 2023 and joined the forward bloc led by then prime minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, serving as a minister until Nov 17 last year, when the PPP government headed by Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore assumed office. Mr Butt had supported the formation of the PPP government.
The validity of his state subject certificate had long been challenged by PML-N leader Syed Shoukat Ali Shah, who alleged that it had been obtained fraudulently.
Introduced during Dogra rule, the state subject certificate serves as proof of domicile and entitles bona fide inhabitants of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir to property ownership and public employment.
On this side of the divide, it is issued by the respective deputy commissioners to AJK residents and by the deputy commissioner (rehabilitation) in Mirpur toKashmiri refugees settled in Pakistan.
An inquiry ordered by the AJK Supreme Court and conducted by the deputy commissioner (rehabilitation) found the certificate issued to Mr Butt to be invalid and recommended its cancellation.
Instead of acting on the recommendation, the Haq-led coalition government, of which Mr Butt was a member, had referred the inquiry report back to the Board of Revenue. Although the board also upheld the findings, the certificate nevertheless remained intact.
Following repeated observations by the Supreme Court over the delay, the cabinet headed by Mr Rathore approved cancellation of the certificate in February this year. The PPP government, however, did not issue a formal notification, reportedly fearing the loss of support from a three-member group of refugee legislators that included Mr Butt.
Frustrated by the continued inaction, Mr Shah again approached the Supreme Court in April. During a hearing, the advocate general assured the bench that the judgment would be implemented ‘in letter and spirit’, saying the process was nearing completion. The case, subsequently fixed for June 10, was adjourned amid the prevailing situation and the court’s summer recess.
In a surprising move, the PPP had awarded Mr Butt its ticket for the 2026 elections from the same constituency, but he eventually lost to Mr Shah.
Talking to Dawn on Thursday, Mr Shah claimed that Mr Butt had even begun preparing documents to claim a monthly pension, a facility available to former AJK assembly members. He said he had met Prime Minister Iftikhar Gillani and apprised him of the matter, following which the cabinet approved revocation of the certificate at its October 26 meeting.
‘In my view, while Mr Butt has rendered himself a wilful lawbreaker by contesting elections and claiming emoluments from the AJK exchequer on the basis of a fake state subject certificate, all those who have shielded him by delaying action on the reports of government institutions and courts are equally culpable,’ he said.
Mr Shah said he would again approach the courts to seek recovery of the emoluments received by Mr Butt as an MLA and minister over the past five years.