ISLAMABAD , Pakistan ( CNN ) -- Pakistan election officials on Monday disqualified opposition party leader and former former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from participating in January parliamentary elections . Election officials say Nawaz Sharif 's previous convictions bar him from standing for reelection . A spokesman for Sharif 's Pakistan Muslim League told CNN Monday that Sharif had been barred by the election commission because of a previous criminal conviction . Sharif filed paperwork for his candidacy last week , although he had left open the possibility that he would boycott the election in protest of a state of emergency imposed by President Pervez Musharraf . Sharif , an outspoken critic of Musharraf , who ousted him from power in 1999 , had said he wanted to keep all options open . Sharif returned to Pakistan last month , ending seven years in exile in Saudi Arabia . He had first returned in September , but Pakistani authorities deported him within hours of his arrival . Sharif was convicted of terrorism , hijacking and tax evasion after Musharraf seized power in 1999 . He was released in 2000 in exchange for agreeing to 10 years of exile in Saudi Arabia . He retained his Pakistani citizenship , but has not been allowed to travel to Pakistan or directly take part in Pakistani politics . Musharraf , who quit as military leader and took office for a third term last week , has pledged to lift the state of emergency by December 16 . He was criticized of using the emergency to crack down on political rivals and to purge the judiciary of those likely to block the approval of his reappointment as leader . E-mail to a friend . -- CNN 's Zein Basravi contributed to this report .
Former Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif has his candidacy papers rejected . Had submitted nominations papers for Pakistan 's parliamentary election . Returning officer in Lahore upheld ineligibility objections from other candidates .