Scores of Pakistani politicians are sitting at the edge of their assembly seats as various universities are declaring their credentials fake. Six degrees were declared bogus today and dozens of others have been proved invalid over the past few days. From our great assortment of leaders, quite a few have made some daring statements on which we, the media, must ponder upon. Sometimes we are told that we are the force that will take the nation ahead and sometimes we are told to silence ourselves. In order to please everyone, here are a few points the media must remember when covering sensitive issues such as the fake degrees:

-    Politicians have a sense of humour. Ask Chief Minister Raisani if you don’t believe this statement. As the degree crisis continues, Raisani had recently stated that “whether genuine or fake, both are called degrees.” Later on however, the chief minister explained that he did not mean what he said and that “we are human beings, we also have a sense of humour.” Hence it does not matter whether the joke is completely inappropriate or happens to be mocking a serious issue in the nation. A joke is a joke, whether funny or not.

-    That Pervez Musharraf’s making graduation degree mandatory for participation in elections was a politically motivated decision and should never be assumed that it was meant for the betterment of this country. Having educated leaders is NOT in our best interest. Regardless of where we are and what issue we are talking about – we must remember, the g(j)enerals are responsible for everything bad and ugly.

-    Generals will now be spelt with a J. The change is not mandatory but the new spellings should not be considered wrong. An MPA has claimed that the three J’s – the unholy alliance of g(j)enerals, judges and journalists – is responsible for defaming his political party. The three J's must start behaving themselves now.

-    You are in for a nasty surprise if you enroll yourself at the Monticello University. Just ask Babar Awan – all that hard work and not even a degree he can call his own.

-    You can be the finest leader a nation has ever had even without a degree. Just look at Quaid-e-Azam…. and then everyone else who followed. Our president has alleged that the Quaid did not have a degree before he began practising law and was not a graduate. Hence, we must verify if the Quaid’s independence movement can be considered valid.

-    While the Sharifs and humorous Raisani have now claimed that fake degree holders must be held accountable, Jamshed Dasti of Pakistan Peoples Party is immune from any kind of law against fake degrees.

-     It must be understood that the point is not that these politicians deceived the nation – the point is that journalists behaved completely inappropriately. This needs to be given air-time instead. Those behind the lens now need to come in front of it.

-    Too much time should not be spent on the issue of fake degrees as the matter is not as big as the “disintegration of the country and the issue of Kargil.” You want serious crimes? Read up on these two – not on the bogus degrees which have made a mockery out of our assemblies and national image.

-    You are allowed to get a story totally wrong as long as your degree is not invalid.

-    The six degrees of separation rule does not apply to our politicians. They are the friends of the awaam and the baradaran of the locals. There are no degrees of separation between them and us.

Shyema Sajjad is the Deputy Editor at Dawn.com

The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.