Pakistan's Election Commission on Monday dismissed an appeal filed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz to challenge the rejection of their nomination papers for the upcoming general election, virtually burying their chances of staging an electoral comeback.

Akram Sheikh, the lawyer for the two brothers, appeared before Chief Election Commissioner Qazi Muhammad Farooq and requested him to overturn the returning officer's rejection of their nomination papers.

However, the CEC refused to entertain their appeal on the grounds that the Election Commission could not directly hear such matters.

The nomination papers filed by the Sharif brothers for two parliamentary constituencies in Punjab were rejected on the grounds that Nawaz Sharif had been convicted on terrorism and hijacking charges in 2002 while Shahbaz has been named as an accused in the extra-judicial killing of five youths in Lahore in 1998.

Instead of filing appeals with the returning officers, the brothers had directly written to the Election Commission to reconsider the matter.

Nawaz Sharif had said that he did not mount a legal challenge as he did not want to accord recognition to judges owing allegiance to President Pervez Musharraf.