KARACHI, April 5: Former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf would most probably be having second thoughts on Friday about his decision to return to Pakistan as the day produced developments he might not have expected.

The returning officer in Kasur, one of the four National Assembly constituencies the general wants to contest elections from, rejected his nomination papers, throwing former president’s bid to regain political influence in jeopardy.

Gen Musharraf has also filed nomination papers for NA 32 Chitral, NA 48 Islamabad and NA 250 Karachi.

In Islamabad, the Supreme Court agreed to look into a treason complaint filed against Gen Musharraf and the hearing will take place on Monday.

Maulana Javid Kasuri, a leader of Jamaat-i-Islami, raised objections against the general’s candidature for NA 139 Kasur.

Maulana Kasuri, it is learnt, is the deputy supreme commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, a militant group active in India-held Kashmir. As president, Gen Musharraf had declared the Hizb a terrorist organisation.

The complainant has accused the general of suspending judiciary, putting fake signatures on his nomination papers, committing treason, assassinating Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti and killing innocent people in Islamabad’s Lal Masjid.

The returning officer declared that the former president did not meet the definition of Sadiq and Ameen as prescribed in articles 62 and 63 of the constitution.

Gen Musharraf will be replaced by Imran Nazir Advocate to contest for NA-139.

Taufiq Asif, president of the Rawalpindi High Court Bar Association, told AFP that he had asked the Supreme Court to try Gen Musharraf for treason for imposing the state of emergency in 2007.

“I have been informed by the Supreme Court that a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is going to hear my petition against General Pervez Musharraf after three days,” Mr Asif said.

SC officials confirmed that the petition would be heard on Monday.

Also on Friday, the PML-N urged the Election Commission of Pakistan to reject Gen Musharraf as a candidate on the grounds that he had abused the constitution.

Praising authorities for pursuing candidates who faked a university education when it was a requirement, senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said: “The irony is that the dictator who faked the constitution is freely roaming in the country.”

“If no action is taken against him, then it would be like taking punitive action against the corruption of lower functionaries and turning a blind eye to the corruption of big shots.”

Aasia Ishaque, information secretary for Gen Musharraf’s All Pakistan Muslim League, said the ruling by Kasur returning officer would be challenged.

In Karachi, the Jamaat-i-Islami challenged Gen Musharraf’s nomination papers from the NA 250 constituency, blaming him for the “staging May 12 bloodshed” in the city to undermine the lawyers’ movement for the restoration of judiciary, violating the constitution and killing Akbar Bugti.

The objections were filed by JI’s covering candidate from NA 250, Raja Arif Sultan, and JI’s candidate for the Sindh Assembly seat falling within the limits of NA 250, Engineer Abdul Aziz.

“General Musharraf used brutal and non-state armed force to stop Chief Justice Iftikhar (Muhammad) Chaudhry from entering Karachi on May 12, 2007, that claimed dozens of lives,” said a JI statement.

“He first announced, then finally killed Akbar Bugti and publicly claimed the responsibility for that evil action. Military action and genocide of Lal Masjid students are those acts, which cannot be removed from the bloody history of Pakistan.” For theseacts, the general cannot be declared eligible to contest general elections, the statement said.

Afzal Ansari in Kasur and Imran Ayub in Karachi contributed to the report.