PPP faces fresh hurdle, arrest warrant issued against nominee

Shahabuddin got a non-bailable arrest warrant in connection with alleged irregularities in the import of a drug during his tenure as Health Minister

In a setback to PPP's desperate attempts to form a government, a Pakistani anti-drug Court today issued a non-bailable warrant against Makhdoom Shahabuddin as he filed his nomination paper for the post of Prime Minister.

Embarrassed at the development, the Pakistan Peoples Party also fielded its senior leader Qamar Zaman Kaira besides a covering candidate for the post for which five leaders have filed their nominations including two from the opposition. The election for the post will be held tomorrow. The latest development seems to have set the stage for a fresh round of stand-off between the government and an assertive judiciary and may further deepen the political crisis that has hit the country.

Senior PPP leader Raja Parvez Ashraf, was named as a "covering" or alternative candidate in case Shahabuddin's nomination papers were rejected for some reason.

As Shahabuddin was filing his nomination papers at the National Assembly, a special court of the Anti-Narcotics Force in Rawalpindi issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him in connection with alleged irregularities in the import of a large quantity of the controlled drug Ephedrine during his tenure as Health Minister.

A media report later said that PPP has dropped Shahabuddin and is now backing Ashraf but there was no confirmation of this.

Acting on a request from the Anti-Narcotics Force, Judge Shafqatullah Khan in Rawalpindi issued arrest warrants for Shahabuddin and former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani's son Ali Musa Gilani.

The judge directed officials to arrest and present them in his court within a week.