Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Balochistan president Yar Muhammad Rind was allowed to contest upcoming polls by the Supreme Court on Thursday.

Revoking the decision of Balochistan High Court (BHC) that barred Rind from contesting the elections, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was instructed to issue an electoral symbol to the PTI leader, by the top court.

Rind was stopped by the BHC from polls for holding a fake degree and having a murder case filed against him.

The appeal against the BHC decision was heard by a two-judge bench of the apex court.

“I had intentionally written in the nomination papers that the PTI leader holds a Faculty of Arts (FA) degree instead of graduation one that he received from a seminary in Sukkur,” Rind’s lawyer argued.

Asserting that Rind’s nomination papers, submitted in previous elections, had mentioned that he is in possession of a post-graduate degree, the counsel went on to say: “I made a conscious decision to not mention that.”

To the chief justice’s observation that the decision appears to have “dishonesty” behind it, the counsel denied the perception with Rind stating: “I was not being dishonest when I hid the degree certificate.”

In reference to the murder case against PTI provincial chief, the advocate pleaded that Rind has been granted bail in the case.

Thereupon, the high court’s order was set aside by the SC allowing Rind to contest in elections, scheduled for July 25.

The PTI member was earlier disqualified from the electoral race upon a returning officer’s decision that withheld his candidacy from NA-260 and PB-17, in Naseerabad and Jhal Magsi respectively.