Sharif's poll nomination accepted

Islamabad: Pakistan election authorities yesterday accepted nomination papers of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif for the by-elections to be held next month.

Nawaz Sharif is to run for the National Assembly in two constituencies in Lahore and Rawalpindi while Shahbaz is contesting polls for the Punjab assembly.

Both could not run in the February general elections because their candidatures were rejected then by the election authorities.

Their party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N, welcomed the acceptance of nomination papers of the two leaders for the by-polls to be held on June 24 to fill 38 vacant seats in the national and provincial assemblies.

According to the party, Shahbaz is to become chief minister in Punjab after his election to the provincial assembly. The PML-N government in the province is currently led by Sardar Dost Mohammad Khosa of the party, who was elected chief minister. PML-N central leader Raja Zafarul Haq said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif would play a more effective role after winning a seat in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament. The seats for which the two top PML-N leaders are candidates were won by party colleagues in the general elections and later vacated under rules that allow a winner of more than one seat to retain only one.