Poll hurdle: Musharraf's papers rejected in one seat

Islamabad, April 5: In a blow to political amibitons of former president and military strongman, the nomination papers of Pervez Musharraf, were rejected in one of the four parliamentary constituencies that he is contesting for the May 11 elections in Pakistan. Musharraf has filed papers to contest elections from four parliamentary seats -- Karachi, Islamabad, Chitral and Kasur. Returning Officer Mohammad Saleem for Kasur in Punjab province rejected 69-year-old general's nomination papers. It was not clear on what grounds the papers were rejected. One report said, the general's signature did not match the one on his national identity card. Another reason could be based on the petition filed by a lawyer. The lawyer had objected to Musharraf's candidature 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".