LARKANA, Aug 22: Nomination papers of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto for two National Assembly seats were filed on her behalf by some PPP leaders here on Thursday.

The former prime minister is a candidate from the constituencies of NA-204 Larkana-I and NA-207 Larkana-IV.

Ms Bhutto has attached a copy of her MA degree from Oxford University with the nomination papers. Mohammad Ayaz Soomro, president of the district bar association and senior vice-president of the PPP in Larkana district, and Dr Ashraf Abbasi, a former deputy speaker of the National Assembly, filed Ms Bhutto’s papers with the returning officer for NA-204 Larkana-I, Abdul Ghani Soomro. This was the constituency from where Begum Nusrat Bhutto had previously been elected.

Later, they went to Ratodero and filed her papers for NA-207 Larkana-IV with Akhlaque Hussain Larik, the additional district and sessions judge.

Advocate Zulqarnain Abro and Mazhar Ali Junejo are the proposer and seconder of Ms Bhutto for NA-204, respectively. Aijaz Leghari and Shafique Ahmed Soomro are the proposer and seconder for NA-207, respectively.

Mr Soomro said that scrutiny of papers for NA-204 and NA-207 would be held on Aug 26 and Aug 30, respectively. It would only be after the scrutiny that the returning officer would announce the acceptance or rejection of nomination papers, he added.

Shamim-ur-Rahman adds from Karachi: Ms Bhutto’s petition challenging the government’s bid to prevent her from contesting the elections is now fixed for pre-admission hearing on Aug 27.

Her counsel’s plea for restraining the returning officers from pronouncing order on her nomination papers until her petition is decided, was not accepted by a division bench of the Sindh High Court.

Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed observed that “you can always file a nomination paper. The court can always grant you relief if it comes to a conclusion that amendments are invalid”.