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Pak EC rejects Benazir Bhutto's nomination

The Pakistan Election Commission on Friday rejected the nomination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto from Larkana-1 seat to contest the October 10 general election.

The rejection prompted a sharp reaction from her supporters. "This is a case of double standards. On one hand the nomination papers of [former prime minister] Nawaz Sharief have been accepted, but on the other hand Bhutto's nomination has been rejected," her lawyer Ayaz Soomro said.

But Returning Officer Akhlaq Hussain Ladak said, "She has been convicted by an accountability court. She is not qualified to contest the election."

Pakistan People's Party spokesman Faratullah Babar said the decision to debar her from contesting sends a wrong signal to the people of Sindh, from where Bhutto hails, as the nomination of Sharief, who hails from Punjab, has been accepted.

The military government had, earlier, urged the Sindh high court in Karachi not to entertain Bhutto's petition seeking permission to contest the polls saying she has been declared an 'absconder' for failing to appear before an anti-corruption court in person.

She has also filed nomination for the Larkana-4 seat, reserved for women, which would come up for scrutiny on Sunday.

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