By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS
Islamabad : Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s nomination papers were rejected Monday by the Election Commission for his conviction in a criminal case.
“His nomination papers have been rejected because of his conviction,” a spokesperson of the poll panel told IANS.
Sharif had filed his nomination for the Jan 8 polls from his home constituency in Lahore after he returned from seven years’ exile on Nov 25.
The nomination papers of Sharif’s younger brother, Shahbaz, a former chief minister of Punjab, have already been rejected after his rival claimed that he has been declared a proclaimed offender by a court in a murder case.
Sharif, who has given signals to boycott the upcoming polls under President Pervez Musharraf, is meeting his arch-rival and another former prime minister Benazir Bhutto Monday evening to discuss a possible boycott.
Sharif’s party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said the rejection of his nomination papers was part of a plan by Musharraf to keep the party away from power.
Musharraf, who took oath as civilian president last week, overthrew Sharif’s government in a military coup in October 1999 and a year later Sharif with his entire family was sent into exile to Saudi Arabia. He managed his return through Saudi King Abdullah last month to lead his party in the elections.
Sharif fired Musharraf as army chief on Oct 12, 1999, while he was returning home from a Sri Lankan visit and ordered his plane to be diverted from Karachi where it was scheduled to land.
However, the army in a counter coup, arrested Sharif and later charged him with hijacking the plane. He was sentenced to life imprisonment but was granted remission through a presidential order and sent into exile in December 2000.
Though Sharif has yet to announce his final decision on a poll boycott, his party men are insisting on contesting the forthcoming polls.
His party spokesperson, Ahsan Iqbal, said the party is likely to challenge his rejection in a court.
Sharif’s wife Kulsoom, who led the party when he was put in jail after the 1999 coup, has also filed her nomination papers along with a couple of other family members. There is speculation that she may lead the party in elections if the court rejects Sharif’s plea against the Election Commission and his party decides to contest the polls.
Sharif’s party was divided after Musharraf sacked his government. In the 2002 elections, many of its top leaders joined hands with Musharraf.