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| Musharraf Is Disqualified From Pakistani Elections | Musharraf Is Disqualified From Pakistani Elections |
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| ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A Pakistani court disqualified the country’s one-time military leader and president, Pervez Musharraf, from taking part in coming national elections on Tuesday, dashing his hopes of rejoining Pakistani politics. | ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A Pakistani court disqualified the country’s one-time military leader and president, Pervez Musharraf, from taking part in coming national elections on Tuesday, dashing his hopes of rejoining Pakistani politics. |
| General elections are scheduled for May 11, and Mr. Musharraf planned to run for Parliament in four election districts across the country. His nomination papers from three of the districts were rejected in an initial review by the national election commission, as officials concluded that he had subverted the Constitution when he took power in a coup in 1999 and was therefore ineligible to run. However, he was allowed to run in Chitral, a picturesque, mountainous northern district, and his opponents had appealed that decision. | General elections are scheduled for May 11, and Mr. Musharraf planned to run for Parliament in four election districts across the country. His nomination papers from three of the districts were rejected in an initial review by the national election commission, as officials concluded that he had subverted the Constitution when he took power in a coup in 1999 and was therefore ineligible to run. However, he was allowed to run in Chitral, a picturesque, mountainous northern district, and his opponents had appealed that decision. |
| On Tuesday, a high court tribunal disqualified Mr. Musharraf from running in Chitral, citing various technicalities. | On Tuesday, a high court tribunal disqualified Mr. Musharraf from running in Chitral, citing various technicalities. |
| Ahmad Raza Khan Qasuri, a lawyer for Mr. Musharraf and a senior official of his party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, expressed disappointment over the disqualification. He said Mr. Musharraf planned to appeal to the Supreme Court. | Ahmad Raza Khan Qasuri, a lawyer for Mr. Musharraf and a senior official of his party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, expressed disappointment over the disqualification. He said Mr. Musharraf planned to appeal to the Supreme Court. |
| “Our spirits are very high,” Mr. Qasuri said. “I am with him, and the party leadership has decided that we are going to fight a legal battle.” He acknowledged, however, that Mr. Musharraf’s chances of winning on appeal were slim. | “Our spirits are very high,” Mr. Qasuri said. “I am with him, and the party leadership has decided that we are going to fight a legal battle.” He acknowledged, however, that Mr. Musharraf’s chances of winning on appeal were slim. |
| Last month, Mr. Musharraf ended a four-year self-imposed exile and returned to Pakistan. His party lacks any substantial presence in the country’s treacherous and volatile political landscape. Only a small crowd greeted Mr. Musharraf after he landed in Karachi, and Mr. Musharraf has struggled to find electable political candidates for his party. | Last month, Mr. Musharraf ended a four-year self-imposed exile and returned to Pakistan. His party lacks any substantial presence in the country’s treacherous and volatile political landscape. Only a small crowd greeted Mr. Musharraf after he landed in Karachi, and Mr. Musharraf has struggled to find electable political candidates for his party. |
| Mr. Musharraf announced his party’s election manifesto at a lackluster news conference on Monday in Islamabad, where he maintains a lavish and highly fortified farmhouse. | |
| Mr. Musharraf’s characteristic swagger was missing as he tried to appear defiant despite a litany of court cases and security threats by militants. “Whenever I see danger, I jump into it, and then I realize it is not a danger,” he said. | Mr. Musharraf’s characteristic swagger was missing as he tried to appear defiant despite a litany of court cases and security threats by militants. “Whenever I see danger, I jump into it, and then I realize it is not a danger,” he said. |
| Mr. Musharraf’s ability to campaign has been hobbled because of security threats from Islamist militants and Baluch separatists, whom he tried to quell with military force during his time in office. The Interior Ministry has issued warnings of a possible suicide attack, forcing him to limit his movements. | Mr. Musharraf’s ability to campaign has been hobbled because of security threats from Islamist militants and Baluch separatists, whom he tried to quell with military force during his time in office. The Interior Ministry has issued warnings of a possible suicide attack, forcing him to limit his movements. |
| Supporters of Mr. Musharraf accused the high courts of a political vendetta, and Mr. Qasuri acknowledged that he saw little chance of winning against a court led by Mr. Musharraf’s nemesis, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. | |
| “General Musharraf had submitted himself to the majesty of law,” Mr. Qasuri said. “Everyone calls him a dictator, but the courts are showing their bias.” | |
| Mr. Musharraf was the second high-profile personality to be barred from running for Parliament this week. On Monday, Raja Pervez Ashraf, the departing prime minister, was also disqualified to contest elections, in a blow to Pakistan Peoples Party. Under the departing president, Asif Ali Zardari, the party led the first civilian government to serve out its full term in Pakistani history. | |
| Mr. Ashraf faces wide-ranging allegations of corruption and mismanagement during his stints as prime minister and federal minister for water and power. Elections officials had rejected his nomination papers for contesting for parliament earlier this month. Mr. Ashraf appealed against the decision in an appellate tribunal, which upheld the rejection. | |
| The decision puts the Pakistan Peoples Party in an awkward situation, as it now must rely on second-tier leadership in contesting the elections. Yusuf Raza Gilani, another party heavyweight, was dismissed from the prime minister post by the Supreme Court in June, and he is also disqualified from running for parliament. | |
| The security situation in the country remains precarious as the campaigning continues. Taliban militants have targeted secular politicians in the restive northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in recent days. | The security situation in the country remains precarious as the campaigning continues. Taliban militants have targeted secular politicians in the restive northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in recent days. |
| On Tuesday in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, a roadside bomb ripped through a convoy of one of the country’s biggest political parties, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, killing four people. Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, the head of the party in Baluchistan, survived the attack, but his son, brother and nephew were killed, according to officials. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Mr. Zehri had survived an earlier assassination attempt by Baluch nationalists. | On Tuesday in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, a roadside bomb ripped through a convoy of one of the country’s biggest political parties, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, killing four people. Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, the head of the party in Baluchistan, survived the attack, but his son, brother and nephew were killed, according to officials. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Mr. Zehri had survived an earlier assassination attempt by Baluch nationalists. |