Nawaz Sharif facing Pakistan Poll Ban

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been barred from standing as a parliamentary candidate in January.

A rival candidate had complained to the Election Commission, citing criminal convictions against Mr Sharif. The commission upheld the complaint.

Mr Sharif returned from exile last month. He was overthrown in a 1999 military coup led by the then head of the army, Gen Pervez Musharraf.

President Musharraf resigned from his army post last week.

He was sworn in for a second term as president, this time as a civilian, on Thursday.

Selective amnesty

Mr Sharif has until Friday to appeal against the ban.

President Musharraf signed into law an amnesty earlier this year that cleared former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto from corruption charges facing her.

At the time he and Ms Bhutto were engaged in power-sharing talks. The amnesty was a major factor in her decision to return from self-imposed exile.

However the terms of the amnesty did not clear Mr Sharif.

He was found guilty of hijacking and terrorism after ordering in 1999 that the plane carrying Gen Musharraf back to Pakistan be stopped from landing.

The move led to Gen Musharraf staging the coup.

Mr Sharif went into exile the next year.

Mr Sharif and Ms Bhutto are due to meet later on Monday to discuss a possible joint boycott of January’s elections.