The Supreme Court will hear a petition next week concerning an alleged fake academic degree held by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore Director General Major (r) Shahzad Saleem. The matter has been fixed for hearing on Monday and a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar will hear the case. The court has also issued notice to the petitioner, journalist Asad Kharal, in the case. The Lahore director general of the bureau is already facing an internal investigation over his alleged fake degree on the orders of the Supreme Court. NAB Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal had earlier sought a report about the alleged dubious degree on the directions of the Supreme Court but no apparent action was taken on the issue since October 2017. The apex court had sought a report from the NAB chairman while hearing Kharal’s petition which alleged that the degree issued in 2002 was written in the Calibri font which was commercially available only in 2007. Earlier, Assistant Attorney General Mansoor Tariq had informed the Peshawar High Court (PHC) during hearing of a case that Saleem Shahzad’s degree was not recognised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). The case received fresh attention this week when the issue of the ‘dubious’ degree was brought up during Saleem’s interview with a private TV channel. On Friday, former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi also raised the matter during a press conference, calling on Saleem to present his degree to the press so that its authenticity can be verified. Published in Daily Times, November 10th 2018.