Pakistani authorities Monday rejected former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's candidacy for general elections to be held on January 8, officials said. "The nomination papers of Nawaz Sharif are hereby rejected," returning officer Raja Qamaruz Zaman said, after hearing a challenge against Sharif on the grounds that he was convicted of hijacking in 2000.
The case involved Sharif's attempt to stop a plane carrying his then army chief, Pervez Musharraf, from landing in Pakistan in October 1999. Musharraf and the army ousted Sharif as a result of that incident.