Islamabad: The Pakistan Supreme Court on Thursday allowed former President Pervez Musharaf to file nomination papers ahead of the general elections in Pakistan on July 25.
While hearing the review petition of Musharaf against his disqualification for life by the Peshawar High Court in 2013, the 3 judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar directed Musharraf, to appear before the court on 13 June.
The 74 year Musharaf who faces high-profile treason case against him was given an assurance by the apex court that he will not be arrested by the government. The Supreme court declared him absconder due to his persistent failure to appear before the special trial court set up to try him in the case.
The former president was indicted in March 2014 on treason charges for imposing emergency in the country which led to the confinement of a number of superior court judges in their houses and sacking of over 100 judges. A fugitive in the Benazir Bhutto murder case and Red Mosque cleric killing case, Musharaf had sought adequate security from the government for his return from the UAE to appear before a special Pakistani court in the high-profile treason case.
Earlier in April 2013, Peshawar High Court (PHC) disqualified Musharraf for life holding him ineligible to contest elections. A four-member bench of the PHC had also dismissed Musharraf’s appeal against his disqualification.
In the same month, Musharraf’s nomination papers were rejected from all the constituencies he had applied for.
His nomination papers for Karachi, Islamabad and Chitral were earlier rejected by the returning officers. He was given a chance to appeal against the decision in the election tribunal, but the appeal was also rejected.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
