ISLAMABAD, April 18: Appointment of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) chairman Tauqeer Sadiq has been challenged in Islamabad High Court (IHC) as he allegedly holds fake masters in law degree.

Justice Riaz Ahmad Khan on Monday directed Mr Tauqeer lawyer to submit written response in two weeks to the petition filed by Anwar Khan, an official of Ogra.

“Higher Education Commission (HEC) in its response to the petition has conveyed that the American University of London is not a listed university and no charter has been issued for a university with this name in UK,” Advocate Abdul Rehman Siddiqi representing the petitioner said.

The Ogra head says he holds LLM degree he has obtained from the American University in London but there existed no such university, the lawyer maintained.

In his petition of quo-waranto (Challenging the legality of holding of any public office) Anwar, a public relation officer at Ogra, questioned the eligibility of Sadiq, alleging he neither held genuine degree not the required professional experience.

“Earlier in 2009, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani rejected the summary for appointment of Sadiq as Ogra chairman but he was appointed on July 22, 2009 on the recommendation of a committee headed by Raja Pervaiz Ahsraf then federal minister for power,” the counsel for the petitioner said.

“But the committee too was not formed in accordance with the Ogra rules,” he added.

Calling the appointment as politically motivated the petitioner said Tauqeer Sadiq was brother-in-law of Jahangir Badr, the secretary general of Pakistan People's Party.

The petitioner has prayed to the court to declare the appointment of Sadiq as head of Ogra null and void.