NADRA dismisses DG Zulfiqar Ahmed over ‘fake MBA degree’
The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has terminated its Director General, Zulfiqar Ahmed, after an investigation revealed that his academic credentials, including his MBA degree from Mason University in the USA, were fraudulent.
The case unfolded when NADRA requested the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to verify Ahmed’s degrees. During the inquiry, the HEC discovered that his MBA degree was fraudulent, with signatures on the degree attributed to a person who was not the university president at the time. Additionally, his BBA degree from Westwood College raised doubts, as the institution did not exist in 1987, the year Ahmed claimed to have earned the degree.
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NADRA raised concerns in a letter to the HEC, stating that the provided documents appeared to be fabricated. This included a degree with inconsistent details and discrepancies in the timelines of the awarding institutions.
In light of these findings, the Islamabad High Court upheld the HEC’s decision to revoke the equivalency of Ahmed’s MBA degree. Following the court’s ruling, NADRA issued a show-cause notice to Zulfiqar Ahmed, but his response failed to provide satisfactory clarification.
Based on the HEC’s findings, the IHC’s verdict, and Ahmed’s inadequate defense, NADRA’s chairman decided to dismiss him from service. An official notification confirming his termination has been issued.
The controversy traces back to 2018 when NADRA directed Ahmed and others to verify their degrees. Ahmed submitted sealed envelopes purportedly containing verification certificates from the universities, which were initially accepted by the HEC.
However, later scrutiny revealed the certificates were likely fabricated, prompting NADRA to flag the issue to the HEC in June 2024.
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