Islamabad, Apr 9: The PML-Q plans to seek disqualification of PML-N leader and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from contesting the forthcoming by-election to the National Assembly.

The PML-Q, the in power till recently, said that the reason of him being convicted in several cases behind rejection of his nomination papers was still there. If the PML-Q succeeds in its endeavour, it would be the second time when Sharif’s nomination papers would be rejected.

On December 3 last year the country’s Election Commission had rejected his papers because of his convictions. The convictions cited by the returning officer still stand and have not been revoked by any competent authority, a PML-Q leader told this correspondent.

There had been no change whatsoever that qualified Nawaz to contest the election, he said and added that the his party candidate fighting against Nawaz would raise objections to his qualification to be a candidate, also referring to the previous rejection of his candidacy papers by the returning officer.

"Our leadership has decided to field candidates for all the seats, including those where the Sharif brothers would be in the run in the by-polls,” The News quoted PML-Q leader and former information minister Mohammad Ali Durrani as saying.

He said the PML-Q nominees would raise questions about the qualification of their rivals before the returning officers, as had been the usual practice. Last time, Nawaz was ousted from the electoral fight on the objection of his rival candidate, Khawaja Tahir Zia. "Nawaz cannot contest the election because he was sentenced, convicted and declared a terrorist in the hijacking case," Zia's lawyer, AZ Shami, had argued.

On the other hand, Nawaz's lawyer Khawaja Haris Ahmad said that his client could not be ruled out of the election because a five-year time limit for the disqualification of convicts had expired. Some PML-Q leaders are not sure that their party would get Nawaz's papers rejected, saying by the time they would have formed their government in the Punjab by having their interim chief minister in place. (ANI)