By Xinhua
Islamabad : Former Pakistani prime minister and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto filed her nomination papers for national assembly elections Monday in the southern city of Larkana, her hometown in Sindh province, local media reported.
Despite calls for boycott of the polls by main opposition camps, elections have been announced and all the main players have jumped into the arena, the Dawn News channel said, noting that another former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was also expected to file his nomination papers later in the day.
Bhutto, chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), had also filed her nomination papers in Karachi for reserved seats for women in the National Assembly.
Monday was the last day for submitting nomination papers for the national and provincial assembly elections, which are scheduled for Jan 8.
The PPP has announced its final list of contestants but Bhutto has obviously been hesitating about her next move, allowing party members to file for nomination while leaving the option of a boycott open.
Bhutto returned from eight years in exile on Oct 18 and has since been touring major cities across the country to gather support.
Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister and a major opposition leader, also returned to Pakistan Sunday evening.