SIALKOT, Jan 22: The university degree requirement for eligibility to contest general elections has ousted some political heavyweights in Sialkot district.

Former MNA Chaudhry Akhtar Ali Variyo had been a matriculate. He would have been ineligible even otherwise on account of having been declared a proclaimed offender by an accountability court.

His son, Khush Akhtar Subhani, a former provincial minister, was an FA. Mr Subhani, is currently in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau. He has already been convicted of corruption.

Chaudhry Abdus Sattar Variyo, a former federal minister, had a law degree besides the BA. He, too, however, has been convicted and disqualified for public office.

His son, Armaghan Subhani, a former MPA, has a BA degree. Interestingly, he is said to be unwilling to run for an assembly seat.

Syed Iftikharul Hasan Shah, thrice elected to the National Assembly from Daska, is a matriculate.

Former Privatization Commission chairman Khwaja Muhammad Asif has a BA degree as well as an LLB. Former federal minister, Chaudhry Ameer Husain has an MA and LLB. Talking to this correspondent, they predicted a victory in the district for their Pakistan Muslim League.

“We will contest every seat in the district and hope to prove that Sialkot remains PML bastion,” they added.

Shahid Mahmood Butt, a former MPA, has an MSc in agriculture. Mr Butt is said to be eyeing a key role for himself and has been assuring party workers that they would not be forgotten.

The Pakistan People’s Party remains divided over local leadership. Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas, a former provincial minister and district president, is trying hard to end the rift.

Some of the politicians here, are predicting, meanwhile, that the government would allow itself to be persuaded to drop the degree requirement. Some of them pointed out that the president lacked power to amend the constitution.

Others believe, however, that the condition will stay and that it will have an impact on the political scene. They think that some leading exporters from the area were likely to be elected to the National Assembly.

The politicians lacking the requisite qualification have been consulting prominent educationists, in some cases, trying to persuade them to join their camps. Several politicians are trying upgrade their academic qualifications.

DEMANDED: Several women members demanded at a special meeting of the Sialkot Tehsil Municipal Administration, chaired by Tehsil Naib Nazim Mahmood Ali Warraich, that their role be specifically defined. Some of them said they had become a “show piece” in the house, since the tehsil administration seemed always to ignore them.