Islamabad: Former Pakistani premiers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif cannot contest next year's polls as rules bar them from running for the Prime Minister's post more than twice but the same is not applicable to President Pervez Musharraf, a leader of the ruling pro-military alliance has said.
"Though Musharraf technically held the post of President twice, the period during which he overthrew the incumbent President Rafiq Tarar in 2001 and took over Presidency cannot be counted as a term because constitution was kept in abeyance at that time," former law minister Khalid Ranjha said.
He said Musharraf started his "first" term as President in November 2002, which would complete in November 2007 and the same assemblies which elected him in 2002 were competent to elect him for a second time also.
Benazir and Sharif cannot contest for the third term as they already have held the post twice in the past, he said adding assertions of their supporters that they held the post only for a brief period as they were removed midway was not valid.
Musharraf's continuation as Army Chief was not a problem either as he was accepted as President-in-uniform for a particular period under the Constitution, which had upremacy over the legislature, the PML(Q) Senator said.
He asserted there was no bar on the general becoming a candidate for a second term and the assemblies re-electing him for the presidential office.
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