PESHAWAR, Feb 27: A voter of Mardan district on Wednesday challenged before the Peshawar High Court the election of Pakistan People’s Party provincial president, Rahimdad Khan, as MPA, alleging that he had produced a forged graduation degree.

The voter, Farman Ali Khattak, a resident of Hathian village, filed a writ petition through Advocate Qazi Mohammad Anwer.

He requested the high court that the election of Rahimdad may be set aside and the concerned authorities directed to take appropriate legal action against him for committing fraud and said that the seat PF-27 Mardan-V be declared vacant and the Election Commission directed to hold fresh elections.

He also requested the court that till final disposal of the writ petition he should be restrained from taking oath of the office of MPA and the speaker provincial assembly restrained from administering oath to him.

The petitioner claimed that Rahimdad Khan had also contested the elections in 2002 and with his nomination papers he had annexed copy of a diploma certifying that he was admitted to the department of Pashto in the faculty of literature at Kabul University in 1993 and had completed the requirements of the said department in 1997 and was awarded MA degree on May 2, 1998.

That since petitioner was sure that photo copy of the provisional certificate of Respondent Rahimdad Khan, claimed to have been issued by Gomal University was fraudulent, manufactured and bogus, therefore, petitioner checked the gazette result of the annual examination 2005. He added that in the gazette at S.No. 12058 was Rahim Khan son of Bangi Khan who had failed in English.