ISLAMABAD: Two Pakistan Peoples Party leaders — former Senate chairman Raza Rabbani and former opposition lea­der in the National Assembly Syed Khur­sheed Shah — have criticised the decision of the Supreme Court to allow retired Gen Pervez Musharraf to file his nomination papers for the upcoming elections.

The court had permitted Mr Musharraf to do so on the condition that he appear in person before the court on June 13 in Lahore.

In a statement, Senator Rabbani said that the rule of law would evade Pakistan if Mr Musharraf, an erstwhile dictator, was allowed to file his nomination papers.

“It is a matter of record that the Special Court trying Musharraf for treason, on 11th May, 2016 under Article 6 of the Constitution, 1973, declared him an absconder. Further, he fraudulently misled the Court, on the pretext of ill-health and has since then been absconding the country,” he said.

Mr Shah, in a separate statement, claimed that Mr Musharraf would not return to Pakistan.

While responding to a question about the Kalabagh dam, Mr Shah said that three provinces had already passed resolutions against the dam. The matter, he said, should therefore be referred to the Council of Common Interests for the final decision.

He warned that the federation would face many challenges if it proceeded with the construction of the dam.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2018