PESHAWAR, Jan 6: The Peshawar High Court here on Monday allowed a leader of PPP (Sherpao), Barrister Iftikhar Ahmad, to contest the scheduled senate elections and directed the Election Commission to entertain his nomination paper.

A single bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, ordered  that  the entertainment of his nomination papers would be subject to final decision on his writ petition.

The bench also directed the University Grants Commission (UGC) to file comments in reply to the petition filed by Barrister Iftikhar.

The petitioner, who has been contesting on the senate seats reserved for technocrats, had left for UK after getting his intermediate certificate here. He did his Bar-at-law in United Kingdom.

Last year he filed an application with the University  Grants  Commission for getting  an  equivalence certificate,  however, the UGC has not provided  him  the certificate till date.

In his writ petition before the high court, he has prayed that the UGC should be directed to provide him equivalence certificate. With the main petition he has also filed an application seeking interim relief in the shape of direction to the Election Commission for considering his nomination papers.

The high court on Monday took up the application for interim relief. Barrister Zahoorul Haq appeared for the petitioner and argued that under section 8A of the Conduct of General Elections Order, 2002, a person should not be qualified to be elected or chosen as a member of parliament or a Provincial Assembly unless he is at least a graduate possessing a bachelor degree in any discipline or any degree recognised as equivalent by the UGC.

He contended that the petitioner had applied to the UGC on Sept 20, 2002, for providing an equivalence certificate, but till now it had not provided the same.

He argued that the last date

for submission of nomination papers for the senate polls was Jan 11 and if the petitioner nomination papers were not entertained  by  the Election Commission he  would  suffer irreparable loss.