By Muhammad Najeeb
Islamabad, Sep 27 (IANS) President Pervez Musharraf Thursday filed nomination papers to run for a second presidential term even as Pakistan’s apex court resumed hearing petitions questioning the legitimacy of his move.
Leaders of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Qaid (PML-Q) submitted Musharraf’s nomination papers for the Oct 6 presidential polls to Chief Election Commissioner Qazi Farooq. Only a few yards away, the Supreme Court began hearing several petitions filed against Musharraf for keeping two offices – that of president and army chief – and his candidature for a second presidential term.
Among the petitioners were opposition leaders, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Tehrik-e-Insaaf president Imran Khan.
The apex court is likely to announce its decision Friday afternoon.
Eight sets of nomination papers have been submitted for Musharraf. An unconfirmed report said on one of the nomination papers Musharraf has been named as “General (retired) Pervez Musharraf.”
“You will soon come to know how we have written the name,” Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told reporters.
Nomination papers by two other prominent candidates were also filed with the Election Commission Thursday. The lawyer community, which along with the opposition is fighting military rule, has fielded a former Supreme Court judge, Wajihuddin Ahmed, who refused to work under the military government’s orders and resigned in 1999.
“Go Musharraf, go!” was the slogan raised by lawyers as they entered the Election Commission building to submit Ahmed’s nomination papers.
“We are not here to win but to challenge a dictator,” Munir A. Malik, then Supreme Court Bar Association president, told reporters.
Another lawyer, Hamid Khan, said this was the second occasion after 1964 that anyone had dared to challenge a military ruler in Pakistan. He was referring to Fatima Jinnah who contested elections against Field Marshal Ayub Khan.
The third major candidate is Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) nominee – its deputy chairperson – Makhdoom Amin Fahim. PPP chief and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto is negotiating with Musharraf on a possible power-sharing deal.
There are other candidates for the presidential elections but their names were not known immediately. These include Bhutto’s sister-in-law Faryal Talpur, but she is a covering candidate for Fahim.
“Our candidate, Fahim, will contest the elections if Musharraf’s nomination papers are rejected,” PPP spokesperson Farhatullah Babar told reporters.
PML-Q leaders were the first to come to the Election Commission offices in the morning to submit the nomination papers of Musharraf.
“These are historic moments when nomination papers of President (Musharraf) have been submitted in a transparent manner,” Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, who led the PML-Q team, said after submitting the papers.
Aziz told reporters that his party would ensure a big win for Musharraf. “We have the required numbers and we are confident that he would have smooth sailing.”
The country’s stock market got a positive spin soon after Musharraf’s nomination papers were filed and the benchmark KSE-100 index increased by 55 points. Most businessmen in Pakistan are in favour of the continuity of Musharraf as they think business has flourished during his tenure.
However, all eyes are now on the Supreme Court, which is likely to announce its decision in the Musharraf case Friday.
Musharraf has assured the court that he will quit the army chief’s office soon after his election as president. He was the army chief when he took power in 1999, after overthrowing the elected government and later got himself elected president.
One of his lawyers told the Supreme Court Wednesday that he would continue as army chief if not elected for a second term.
Political pundits fear that Musharraf could impose emergency or martial law in the country if his nomination papers were to be rejected or if the apex court ruled against his candidature.
All roads leading to the Constitution Avenue where the Election Commission offices are located were sealed. Many educational institutions in the national capital declared a holiday Thursday and students had to return home.
Reports from the capital’s adjacent city Rawalpindi said since early morning no one was being allowed to enter Islamabad.