Pakistan government to challenge Nawaz Sharif ruling

Islamabad: Pakistan's government said on Tuesday it would challenge a court decision disqualifying former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from standing in the upcoming by-elections.

The announcement by Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani came as hundreds of supporters of Sharif protested outside parliament in Islamabad while others demonstrated in the central city of Multan.

A court in the eastern city of Lahore ruled on Monday that Sharif, ousted by Musharraf in a 1999 coup, was ineligible to stand in a by-election tomorrow because of previous criminal convictions.

Gilani said the decision to move the appeal was taken after consultations with Nawaz Sharif and other leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), a major partner in the coalition led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

"We will file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the ban on Nawaz Sharif standing in the by-election," Gilani, a senior member of the party of slain ex-PM Benazir Bhutto, told parliament.