Musharraf disqualified from running in Pakistan elections
Ex-leader disqualified from parliamentary elections after being approved to run in northern constituency
Pakistan's former president Pervez Musharraf was yesterday disqualified from contesting elections next month, crushing his ambition to "save" the troubled nuclear-armed nation just weeks after his return from exile.
Pakistan goes to the polls on May 11 for an election that will mark the first time that a civilian government has handed over power at the ballot box after completing a full term in office, in a country used to extended periods of military rule.
The election campaign has got off to a lacklustre start, and been marred by violence and Taliban threats.
Yesterday, a bomb targeted a convoy of the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N party, killing four people.
Officials disqualified Musharraf a day after he unveiled his All Pakistan Muslim League party manifesto at a press conference overshadowed by questions about legal cases dating to his nine years in power.
The retired general is on bail over the 2007 killing of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the 2006 death of a rebel leader from the region of Baluchistan, as well as for sacking judges when he imposed emergency rule in 2007.