Musharraf nomination rejected

- Signature did not match that in his citizen identity card - He filed papers in Karachi, Islamabad, Chitral and Kasur

Lahore/Islamabad (PTI): Pervez Musharraf's nomination papers for a parliamentary constituency in Pakistan's Punjab province were on Friday rejected, even as the Supreme Court decided to hear a petition seeking the former military ruler's trial for treason.

The Returning Officer for a parliamentary constituency at Kasur in Punjab rejected 69-year-old Musharraf's nomination papers for the May 11 general election on the ground that the signature did not match the one on his national identity card, officials said.

Reports said a lawyer, Javed Kasuri Advocate, too had objected to Musharraf's candidature on the ground that the former President had violated Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution, which specify that candidates should have a "good character" and be "sagacious, righteous and non-profligate".

Returning Officer Mohammad Saleem rejected the former dictator's nomination papers, officials said. In a separate development, a man named Syed Tariq Ali submitted an objection to nomination papers filed by Musharraf for another parliamentary constituency in Islamabad.

It could not immediately be ascertained when election authorities would take up the objection. In another significant development, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry will take up on Monday a petition filed by former Rawalpindi High Court Bar Association president Taufiq Asif seeking Musharraf's trial for treason.

The petition was included among cases scheduled to be heard next week, officials said. Asif's petition was clubbed with two other applications seeking similar action against Musharraf, they said.

At the hearing on Monday, the bench will decide whether treason proceedings should be initiated against Musharraf, who returned to Pakistan after nearly four years in self-exile.

SC to hear treason charge Islamabad: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday constituted a three-member bench to hear treason charges against the former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf. The three-member bench will be headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

The court will hear the case on Monday. The petition is filed by the President of Rawalpindi High Court Bar Taufiq Asif, in which it is prayed that Musharraf should be tried under Article 6 for abrogating the Constitution of Pakistan, according to a report in The Nation.