Pak SC puts question mark on legality of change in poll rules

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Supreme Court has put a question mark on the legality of recent electoral amendments to pave the way for President Pervez Musharraf's re-election, observing that the poll panel does not have the power to change the basic rules.

Cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan has formally filed a petition challenging the amendments made by Election Commission that exempted Musharraf from rules barring government servants from contesting polls.

Justice Sardar Raza Khan, part of a bench hearing a slew of petitions questioning the General's dual offices on Wednesday, said the EC does not have the power to change basic rules, let alone provisions of the Constitution.

The judge was responding to the plea of Hamid Khan, counsel for Imran, for striking down the amendments to presidential election rules carried out by the EC.

A nine-member bench headed by Justice Rana Bhagwandas is hearing petitions challenging Musharraf's dual offices.

Hamid Khan said the EC had amended the Presidential Election Rules 1988 with the President's consent so that the disqualification clauses laid down in Article 63 did not apply to Musharraf.

The EC, which also barred the returning officers from rejecting any nomination papers, earlier defended the amendments, saying they were in conformity with two Supreme Court judgements of the recent past.