PESHAWAR, Jan 23: The University of Karachi has cancelled the graduation degree of Frontier MPA Malik Imran accusing him of having tampered with the university record.

In reply to a writ petition challenging the qualification of the PML-N's lawmaker, the controller of examination submitted to the Peshawar High Court: "The respondent (Malik Imran) is not a graduate from the University of Karachi and his degree is a result of tampering with the record of the institution."

The controller informed that after receiving the PHC letter regarding the verification of his degree, the anti-corruption establishment investigate the matter and found that in Register "A" was overwriting on the marks written against the name of the respondent (Malik Imran) without any initials of the authorities concerned. And when Register "B" of the university, which always remained in a safe custody, was examined, it appeared that Register "A" was tampered with by someone.

The controller stated that the respondent was a student of the Government College of Commerce and Economics, and he had appeared in the 1994 examination, but could not clear his papers.

On the basis of this forged document, the university official said, the respondent could not claim to be a graduate. A resident of Ghaznikhel (Lakki Marwart), Naqeebullah Khan, had filed the petition challenging the degree and stating that he was a registered voter of PF-75, the constituency from where Malik Imran was declared elected in the general elections against PML-Q's Saleem Saifullah Khan.

The voter requested the High Court that the B.Com degree, awarded to the MPA by the Karachi university, was bogus, therefore Mr Imran should be disqualified from holding the office of MPA as under the law only a graduate was entitled to contest the elections.

A two-member bench of the High Court will take up for hearing the case on Jan 28. Mr Imran has also filed his comments in the case, challenging the maintainability of the petition.

He stated that under the Constitution, an election dispute could only be challenged through an election petition and such a plea filed by Saleem Saifullah Khan had already been pending before the High Court.