Pervez Musharraf permitted to run in Pakistan general elections

Former Pakistani military leader Pervez Musharraf has been given the permission to run in the country’s general elections next month.

General Pervez Musharraf will be a candidate in the remote northern district of Chitral, after being rejected in two other parts of the country.

Pervez Musharraf, who led Pakistan for nine years after seizing power in a military coup, returned to the country from self-imposed exile last month.

The former president is facing a number of charges relating to his time in office.

Among them, is the accusation he failed to provide adequate security for former PM Benazir Bhutto ahead of her assassination in 2007.

He is also wanted in connection with the murder of a Baloch tribal leader, Nawab Akbar Bugti, and for sacking the entire higher judiciary in November 2007.

Pervez Musharraf has described the cases against him as “baseless” and politically motivated.

Last week, officials rejected his nomination papers in Kasur after objections were filed.

But officials in Chitral, close to the Afghan border, said Pervez Musharraf’s papers there were in order.

“He is not convicted so far so we cannot disqualify him,” returning officer Jamal Khan told AFP news agency.