Ghinwa's paper rejected

The Election Commission yesterday rejected the nomination papers of Ghinwa Bhutto, leader of her own faction of the Pakistan People's Party, because she is not a university graduate, a senior Election Commission official said.

Ghinwa, who leads the PPP (Shaheed Bhutto) faction, filed nomination papers for the National Assembly seat number 204 from Bhutto's home-town of Larkana.

Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has also filed nomination papers for the same seat.

Abrar Ahmed, the election commission official, said that Ghinwa has a right to appeal. A special election commission tribunal would hear all such appeals, he said.

Inayat Hussain, spokesman for Ghinwa, said that an appeal against the decision would be "filed before the appellate authority to establish that Ghinwa has requisite educational background to be a proper candidate."

Ghinwa is the Lebanese-born widow of Murtaza Bhutto, who was shot dead by the police in 1996 when his sister Benazir was in power. The educational certificates submitted by Ghinwa were not found equal to Pakistan's graduation degree, Ahmed said.

Ghinwa is in the forefront opposing Benazir's party.