Pervez Musharraf resigns as APML chief

KARACHI: Former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf on Friday resigned as chief of the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), a political party he formed in 2010.

Musharraf decided to step down as the party chief following a returning officer declared him disqualified from holding public office.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), a disqualified person cannot be the head of a party. The ECP had directed the party to remove Musharraf from the post of its head.

The party was also facing hindrances in registration due to disqualification of the party head.

According to reports, Musharraf will continue to be the patron-in-chief of the party. Former general secretary Dr Mohammad Amjad will now be the chief of the party.

On June 14, Supreme Court of Pakistan barred Pervez Musharraf from filing nomination papers for the upcoming elections after he failed to appear for a court hearing.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar had directed the former military ruler to return to Pakistan and appear before the court by afternoon on June 14 but he failed to turn up.

Musharraf’s counsel informed the court that his client will be unable to appear in court and requested more time. He pleaded that the former president plans on returning but needs more time to appear due to the current situation in the country and Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.

The court adjourned the case for an unspecified period of time, and rescinded its directive allowing Musharraf to file nomination papers, and asked his lawyer to let the court know when he wants the case to be heard.

A three-judge bench, headed by CJP Saqib Nisar, was hearing the appeal of the former military ruler against his 2013 disqualification verdict by the Peshawar High Court.

The bench had warned that if the former president does not show up in court by the stated time, then a decision would be taken according to the law in his absence.