Sindh governor not to contest election

Sind Governor Mohammedmian Soomro has decided not to run in the coming elections after President General Pervez Musharraf asked him to continue holding his office, a senior official said yesterday.

Soomro planned to run for a National Assembly seat from his hometown of Jacobabad in interior of Sindh and sent his resignation to Musharraf.

"But the president has asked him to continue with his job," Syed Wajahat Ali, press secretary to the governor, told Gulf News.

Earlier newspapers reported that Soomro planned to relinquish his office yesterday – a day before the last day of the filing of nomination papers.

Pakistan goes to poll on October 10, which will return the country to democracy after a three-year military rule.