ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan on Tuesday declared the bachelor’s degree of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sports Minister Syed Aqil Shah as fake, sending the case to the district and sessions judge for his trial.

A two-member bench comprising of EC members Justice (retd) Riaz Kayani and Justice (Retd) Fazlur Rehman heard a case regarding Federal Minister for Postal Services Sardar Omar Gorgaij and the Awami National Party’s (ANP) provincial lawmaker Syed Aqil Shah’s degrees.

Syed Aqil Shah, who is also the vice-president of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), headed the Pakistani contingent for the 2012 London Olympics as its chef de mission. Aqil Shah holds degrees from Punjab University, Karachi’s Newport University as well as a degree from the American International College Lahore.

The bench, declaring two of Shah’s degrees as fake and one as unrecognized, sent the case to the concerned district and sessions judge for further proceedings.

During the hearing, EC Member from Punjab Riaz Kayani remarked that not only did Shah hold fake degrees, he did not even bring anything home from the London Olympics.

Speaking in his defense, Shah said that he had submitted only the degree from the American International College Lahore, and that the other two degrees were a conspiracy against him.

The bench declared Federal Minister Sardar Omar Gorgaij’s degrees as authentic.