A local court on Thursday indicted Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Sports, Archaeology and Tourism Aqil Shah in a fake degree case and adjourned the hearing until November 15. District and Sessions Judge Shehbar Khan charged the minister for submitting a fake graduation degree with the Election Commission of Pakistan before contesting the 2008 general elections. Shah, however, refused to accept the charges. The provincial election commissioner had filed a complaint in the court of district and sessions judge against the minister for submitting a fake graduation degree while contesting the general elections of 2008. He said the accused filed his nomination papers before the returning officer declaring on oath therein that he was a graduate and met the qualification requirements under articles 62 and 63 of the constitution. The complainant contended that the minister had contested election in PF-4 constituency of Peshawar on a fake degree as his bachelors degree had allegedly been issued by the University of Punjab on October 15, 2002. Upon scrutiny, it was found fake by the Higher Education Commission on August 5, 2010. The complaint added that HEC had supplied a copy of a letter of the University of Punjab wherein it was stated that no record of the accused existed in that university.
