Musharraf’s nomination papers accepted from third seat

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Pervez Musharraf’s nomination papers for a parliamentary constituency in the port city of Karachi were rejected today while his papers for another seat in northern Pakistan were accepted by election authorities.

Election officials rejected the former military ruler’s papers for parliamentary constituency number 250 in Karachi. Jamaat-e-Islami leader Niyamatullah Khan, who intends to contest the May 11 polls from the same seat, had yesterday objected to Musharraf’s candidature on the ground that he had twice violated and the Constitution and placed judges under house arrest after declaring an emergency in 2007.

The Returning Officer rejected Musharraf’s papers for the steps he had taken against members of the judiciary, officials said. Musharraf’s nomination papers for another parliamentary constituency at Chitral in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province were accepted by authorities. The former President enjoys considerable support in Chitral as several development projects were started in the region during his regime.

A man named Syed Tariq Ali has also objected to nomination papers filed by Musharraf for another parliamentary constituency in Islamabad. The Returning Officer for a constituency at Kasur in Punjab had rejected Musharraf’s nomination papers on Friday on the ground that the signature did not match the one on his national identity card.

A lawyer, Javid Kasuri, too had objected to Musharraf’s candidature in Kasur on the ground that the former President had violated Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution, which specify that candidates should have a “good character” and be “sagacious, righteous and non-profligate”.

Musharraf had filed papers to contest the general election from four parliamentary seats in Karachi, Islamabad, Chitral and Kasur. Meanwhile, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry will take up tomorrow a petition filed by former Rawalpindi high court bar association president Taufiq Asif seeking Musharraf’s trial for treason.

Asif’s petition was clubbed with two other applications seeking similar action against Musharraf,court officials said. At the hearing tomorrow, the bench will decide whether treason proceedings should be initiated against Musharraf, who recently returned to Pakistan after nearly four years in self-exile.