December 19, 2007	Wednesday	Zilhaj 8, 1428

LAHORE, Dec 18: A full bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday refused to recognise the degree of madressah Jamia Ashrafia as equivalent to a bachelor’s degree.

The bench comprising Justice Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq, Justice Fazl-e-Miran Chohan and Justice Hasnat Ahmad Khan handed down the verdict while dismissing a petition filed by Ziauddin Khan, a candidate for PP-171.

The petitioner had challenged the decision of an election tribunal, which had disqualified him and said that “his madressah degree was equivalent to the bachelor’s degree”.

The bench observed that Mr Khan’s degree could not be recognised as a substitute for the bachelor’s degree in accordance with the standards set by the Higher Education Commission.

Besides, the petitioner did not take the exam for additional subjects required to bring a madressah degree on par with a bachelor’s degree.