Musharraf to contest polls from Chitral in north Pak

Former President Pervez Musharraf will contest the upcoming general election from a parliamentary constituency in Chitral in northern Pakistan, members of his political party announced on Wednesday.

Musharraf will file nomination papers for the constituency in Chitral area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on Thursday, said Shahzada Khalid Pervez, a leader of the All Pakistan Muslim League.

Pervez said the APML has decided to field Musharraf from the mountainous constituency where the party has a "strong vote bank". He said he was optimistic that the APML chief would easily sail through polls in the constituency.

Musharraf had chosen the constituency in Chitral because the residents "wanted to pay tribute" to the former president for launching developmental programmes like the Lowari Tunnel, Pervez said.

Though the APML enjoys little support in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the people of Chitral have for long backed Musharraf, who ended nearly four years of self-exile when he returned to Pakistan on Sunday.

Several reports have suggested that Musharraf will also contest the polls from two other constituencies in Sindh and Punjab provinces.