ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission declared on Tuesday the bachelor’s degree of a PML-N lawmaker as fake and sent the case to the sessions judge, Bahawalpur, for his trial for committing a fraud.The commission heard the case at a meeting presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Hamid Ali Mirza and found the degree of Haji Zulfikar Ali, member of the Punjab Assembly, as fake.

The commission reserved its verdict in a case of slapping of a female assistant presiding officer and other polling staff by PPP candidate Waheeda Shah Bukhari at a polling station on Feb 25 during by-election for the PS-57 Tando Mohammad Khan constituency of the Sindh Assembly.

Earlier, the commission heard arguments from lawyers of Ms Bukhari and petitioner Mushtaq Ali Talpur, who had secured second highest votes in the by-election, Ms Bukhari’s counsel questioned parallel hearing of the case by the commission and the Supreme Court.

The petitioner’s counsel argued that Ms Bukhari should be disqualified and his client be declared as winner.

Meanwhile, the commission notified the names of the candidates who had won the Senate elections from Balochistan — a day after the provincial election commissioner upheld the decision he took earlier as a returning officer, which the PML-N had instantly announced it would challenge before the Election Commission and the apex court.