Indicating a change in his stand, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief and former premier Nawaz Sharif on Monday said he will contest the parliamentary by-polls scheduled for June 26 from two constituencies in Rawalpindi and Lahore.
"Yes, I will contest the by-elections," Sharif said, addressing a news conference after a meeting of the party's Central Working Committee and Parliamentary Party, which decided to withdraw PML-N ministers from the coalition led by the Pakistan People's Party.
Party officials said Sharif's nomination papers were filed for a constituency in the garrison city of Rawalpindi and another seat in Lahore.
Sharif could not contest the February 18 polls as his nomination papers were rejected by election authorities due to his conviction on various charges after being deposed by President Pervez Musharraf in a military coup in 1999.
Till recently, Sharif had been non-committal on the issue of contesting the by-polls. The PPP welcomed Sharif's decision to contest the polls and said it would not put up a candidate against him in Rawalpindi.
