SC bars Musharraf from contesting general election

LAHORE (92 News) Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on Thursday suspended conditional permission earlier granted to former president Pervez Musharraf to contest the upcoming general election when Musharraf not appeared before court today till 2pm. A four-member bench headed by the chief justice at the Supreme Court heard the case regarding Musharraf's return to Pakistan by 2:00pm today. All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) Secretary General Dr Amjad and lawyer Moazzam Butt appeared before the court. Musharraf’s lawyer maintained that his client intends to return to Pakistan but is unable to do so due to the present circumstances. The court suspended its interim verdict permitting former president Pervez Musharraf to submit his nomination papers for General Elections 2018. Earlier today during the hearing, the CJP asked that that whether former president Pervez Musharraf's planned to return to Pakistan or not. The chief justice ordered the deputy attorney general that find out if Musharraf will appear before court or not. He remarked that if he does not plan to return then there is no point of waiting till 2pm. He added that the staff of the court have to leave for Eidul Fitr holidays. The CJP directed the deputy attorney general that an update regarding the former president's should be submitted in the court at the earliest. As his 2pm deadline approaches, All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) Secretary General Dr Amjad said that Musharraf will likely to come today. The chief justice warned that that if the former president fails to appear in court his nomination papers will not be accepted. Earlier on Wednesday hearing, the CJ had said that if he was sick he could be brought to the court in an ambulance. He stressed the need for the former president to return to Pakistan if he wanted to contest the elections. When General (r) Musharraf’s lawyer said he was suffering from Parkinson’s, Justice Nisar questioned how he could contest the elections if he had Parkinson’s.