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Islamabad: Pakistan's top presidential candidate Asif Ali Zardari faced growing calls from the opposition on Friday to withdraw his nomination after doubts emerged over his mental health.
The Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman was nominated by his party and analysts say he should be able to secure enough votes to win the September 6 election to replace Pervez Musharraf.
But rival presidential candidate Mushahid Hussain from the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) yesterday questioned Zardari's eligibility to become president after a Financial Times report last week suggested that Zardari was suffering from mental problems as recently as last year. Hussain referred to the reports in the international press about Zardari's mental health and said: "Zardari should prove his ... mental health because a president is also supreme commander of the armed forces in the country which has nuclear weapons. I humbly request ... that he should withdraw his candidature in the supreme national interest."
Today is the last day to withdraw nomination papers. So far all the three main candidates including Zardari, Hussain and Justice Saeeduzzaman Seddiqi from PML-N are determined to contest the election.
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