Gen Pervez Musharraf nominated for president

* Amin Fahim, Justice Wajeeh and 40 others submit nomination papers
* 30 papers filed in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar
* 71 nominations filed in EC for 43 presidential candidates

Staff Report


ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR/LAHORE/KARACHI: Three front-runners for the president’s office – General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan People’s Party leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Justice (r) Wajeehuddin Ahmad – on Thursday formally entered the presidential race by filing their nomination papers with the Election Commission.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz led a team of parliamentarians of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League and its coalition parties in a motorcade to submit President Musharraf’s nomination papers, while Raja Pervez Ashraf led a group of parliamentarians of the PPP to file Fahim’s papers.

Only Justice (r) Ahmad appeared in person before CEC Justice (r) Qazi Muhammad Farooq along with his proposers and seconders to file his nomination papers.

30 nominations from 28 candidates: Meanwhile in high courts at Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar, the respective chief justices, acting as presiding officers, received 30 nomination papers from 28 presidential candidates. No nomination was filed at the Balochistan High Court in Quetta.

Nomination papers: In all, 71 nominations papers for 43 presidential candidates were filed during the day at the EC. In certain cases, there were no proposers and seconders and in some, the presidential hopefuls declared the “people of Pakistan” as their proposers and seconders.

Overall 17 nomination papers were filed on behalf of President Musharraf. Nomination papers for the covering candidates for President Musharraf and Amin Fahim were also filed. Senate Chairman Muhammadmian Soomro and National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain were the covering candidates for the president while Faryal Talpur, sister of Asif Ali Zardari and district nazim of Nawabshah, was the covering candidate for Fahim. The lawyers’ community has not fielded any covering candidate for their nominee, Justice (r) Ahmad. The lawyers shouted slogans against President Musharraf and PPP Chairwoman Benazir Bhutto when the PPP group reached the EC to file Fahim’s nomination papers. The PPP supporters responded by shouting slogans in favour of their leader.

In Peshawar, three candidates including a clerk of the Revenue Department filed three nominations. The other candidates are Shahzada Sardar Rafique and PML-Q lawyer Itbar Khan.

In Lahore, 11 candidates filed 12 nominations including one for Gen Musharraf. Other candidates include Moazzam Aftab Gul, Rana Nek Muhammad, Dr Fazlur Rehman, MP Khan, Muhammad Ashfaq Chaudhry, Rana Hafeezur Rehman, Ambar Shehzada, Tahir Beg, Dr Zahoor Ahmad, Shehbaz Khan and Zahid Iqbal.

In Karachi, 14 candidates including Faryal Talpur filed 15 nomination papers in the Sindh High Court. Other candidates include Mirza Asif Beg, Obaidullah Achakzai, Dr Nawaz Ali, Sakhawat Ali, Faqir Hussain, Muhammad Iqbal, Noshad Imran, Azam Kamal, Amir Ali, Shakeel Ahmad, Hyder Ali, Habib Ahmad and Saleem Beg.

EC sources said that a majority of the nomination papers did not have proper proposers and seconders and the papers were likely to be rejected.

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