The Peshawar High Court (PHC) election tribunal delivered a historic verdict by rejecting the nomination papers of former President Pervez Musharraf, who had sought to contest from four constituencies in the May 11 general elections.

The tribunal, comprised of High Court judges, also gave no scope to Musharraf to appeal against the decision. The former military ruler had recently ended his self-exile and returned to Pakistan to contest the polls.

The tribunal ruled that Musharraf had violated the constitution by imposing emergency in November 2007 and detaining the judges. It also observed that Musharraf does not satisfy the criteria specified in article 62 and 63 of the constitution to contest the polls.

Earlier, Musharraf’s nomination papers were rejected by the returning officers in Karachi, Kasur and Islamabad. Although his nomination papers were accepted in Chitral, several lawyers had objected to it.