Pakistan court bans Musharraf from office for life

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Lawyers say a Pakistani court has banned former military ruler Pervez Musharraf from running for public office for the rest of his life.

One of Musharraf’s lawyers, Saad Shibli, says he plans to challenge Tuesday’s ruling in the Supreme Court.

Judges had already barred Musharraf from running in the May 11 parliamentary election because of his actions while in power.

The Peshawar High Court handed down the lifetime ban Tuesday after hearing an appeal by Musharraf’s lawyers to allow him to run in the upcoming election.

Musharraf returned to Pakistan last month from self-imposed exile to make a political comeback, but his fortunes have gone from bad to worse.

He is currently under house arrest in connection with a case involving his decision to fire senior judges while in power.