Imran Taj, a PhD student, received a scholarship from the HigherEducation Commission of Pakistan (HEC) to study in France. To receive the scholarship, Taj had to commit to returning to Pakistan to work for four years after completing his studies. He also needed a sponsor to ensure this commitment.

On June 2, 2005, Taj applied for the scholarship, and on December 26, 2005, he signed a commitment with HEC. In the application, he submitted property documents in the name of Abdul Waheed as a guarantor. However, after completing his studies in France, Taj did not return to Pakistan as promised, according to The Minutemirror .

Now, when summoned and asked to refund the money, Abdul Waheed, who was declared as the guarantor, asserted that he had never signed any documents related to this scholarship. After the incident came to light, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FIA) conducted a signature verification.

Geo News reported on January 4 that the forensic report showed that the signatures on the guarantee paper were clearly different from Mr. Waheed's real signature, from the smoothness, the level of pen pressure, to the signs of incoherence. The FIA concluded that this was a forgery.

Judge Mohsin Akhtar Kayani of the IHC delivered a 12-page judgment, in which he said that the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan cannot order Mr. Abdul Waheed to pay 25 million rupees (about 2.2 billion VND). The previous civil court judgment, which ordered Mr. Waheed to pay 85,406 euros (about 2.2 billion VND) and 76,386 rupees (about 6.9 million VND), was also quashed.

The court also ordered strict action in the fraud case, with the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan having the right to initiate criminal proceedings against Imran Taj for using forged documents to obtain the scholarship.

The education authority was also asked to set stricter provisions and reform scholarship policies to avoid similar incidents in the future.

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