Top judge faces protests over scandal

Islamabad: The controversy over alleged favouritism by Islamabad education authorities accused of awarding extra marks in examination to the daughter of Pakistan's chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, was taken to the federal High Court on Wednesday.

The Islamabad High Court heard a petition moved by a resident, Iftikhar Hussain Rajpoot, who sought action against the officials he accuses in the petition of favouring Farah Hameed Dogar.

The scandal surfaced last month when newspapers exposed alleged manipulation of grades by the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education that enabled Dogar's daughter to gain admission to a medical college.

During the first hearing of the case, the chief of the Islamabad High Court Sardar Mohammad Eslam ordered respondents in the petition to submit comments to the court by the second week of January.

A standing committee of the National Assembly has also looked into the reported manipulation of grades.

A number of politicians, including former prime minister Nawaz Sharif as well as the legal fraternity have demanded Dogar's resignation.

Sharif was quoted as saying his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N, would launch a movement if the Dogar would not step down.

The legal fraternity has been waging a campaign for the restoration of Pakistan's deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who was fired by former president Pervez Musharraf last year along with many other judges.

The PML-N quit the ruling coalition in August because of reluctance to restore Chaudhry.