AQ Khan registers party to contest general elections

Khan set up Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz Pakistan in July 2012 to campaign for an end to endemic corruption.

ISLAMABAD: Father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb, Abdul Qadeer Khan, has registered his new political party to contest general elections expected next year for the first time, officials said on Wednesday.

In July, he set up Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz Pakistan (TTP) to contest the 2013 elections and to campaign for an end to endemic corruption.

But attendance at his public meetings has been sparse and Khan is unlikely to emerge a serious contender at the ballot box despite his popularity.

A spokesman for the Election Commission of Pakistan confirmed to AFP that TTP was among 19 new political parties whose registration was approved on Tuesday.

The election is expected to mark the first time that a democratically elected civilian government in Pakistan completes a full term in office and hands over to a new, elected administration.

TTP Secretary General Chaudhry Khurshid Zaman said Khan had yet to decide whether to stand himself for election. He added that as the chairman, Khan would guide the party through the campaign.

"Our party has been registered, we will take part in the elections with full strength," Zaman told AFP.

"The whole country is burning, price hikes, unemployment, the energy crisis, poverty and other heinous problems have made public life miserable.”

"Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan has joined politics to change this face of Pakistan and he is the only hope. All other political parties have failed."

Rohail Akbar, TTP spokesman, said the party would form an alliance with right-wing parties, but not those in government or main opposition party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).