The Hindu : Rejection of Benazir's papers regrettable: Sharif

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 01, 2002

International

International

Rejection of Benazir's papers regrettable: Sharif

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD Aug. 31. In an extraordinary gesture of solidarity, the former Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, decided tonight to withdraw from the October elections to protest the rejection of his once archrival, Benazir Bhutto's nomination papers.

The announcement by the Pakistan Muslim League came after Islamabad made it known that it would contest the decision of the election authorities allowing Mr. Sharif to run for the elections.

In a statement, Mr. Sharif said that "I am deeply saddened and perturbed to learn that the election authorities in Pakistan, working under the military dictatorship, have rejected the nomination papers of Benazir Bhutto. This is yet another proof of the military dictatorship's malafide designs and insincerity towards the revival of democracy in Pakistan and it has further strengthened the apprehension regarding its plans to hijack the October 10 elections.''

It was the indisputable right of the people to elect their leaders and preventing them from doing so was nothing but a blatant violation of their rights. "If there are any implications or charges against anyone, he or she should be subjected to a fair and impartial trial with a guaranteed right to defence in a court of law, not functioning under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) of a military dictator,'' the statement said.

Earlier, an official spokesman said there was no way the Government would let Mr. Sharif contest the election. The former Premier had been convicted on two counts and had voluntarily proceeded abroad.

The decision of the authorities to accept the nomination papers of Mr. Sharif and reject those of Ms. Bhutto came as a surprise to political observers. An official spokesman, in response to a question, dispelled the impression that the Government was behind the move regarding the filing of nomination papers. ``The impression being created by the vested interests of any Government involvement in the electoral process is baseless,'' he said. And on the rejection of Ms. Bhutto's nomination papers, he said the Election Commission was solely responsible for overseeing the electoral process.

The demonstration of Mr. Sharif's solidarity with Ms. Bhutto should be a matter of concern to the managers of the Musharraf Government.

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