Pervez Musharraf resigned as president of Pakistan in 2008 after nine years in power.

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The ruling by the high court in Peshawar follows similar rulings from lower courts

Musharraf, who is accused of wrongdoing in office, can appeal

He had been in exile before he returned to Pakistan recently

Elections are to be held next month

CNN  — 

A court in Pakistan has banned former President Pervez Musharraf from politics for life.

Tuesday’s move – which can appealed by the controversial figure – is another barrier in the roadblock Musharraf faces as he tries to get back into his country’s political mix.

The ruling by the high court in Peshawar follows similar ruling from lower courts and the Election Commission. Musharraf can pursue an appeal in the Peshawar court or take it to the country’s Supreme Court. There was no immediate comment from Musharraf’s camp.

National elections are scheduled for next month.

Musharraf resigned as president of Pakistan in 2008 after nine years in power and went into exile the following year, living in London and Dubai. He came back to Pakistan recently under heavy security.

After his return, Musharraf was placed in house arrest by an anti-terrorism court over allegations he illegally ordered the detention of judges in 2007. He denies the charges against him.

The ex-military strongman still has to face two other cases dating from his time in power.

The first relates to claims he did not do enough to protect the life of Benazir Bhutto – the first woman to be elected prime minister of Pakistan – before she was assassinated in 2007, weeks before an election in which she hoped to return to office.

Musharraf is also accused of ordering his troops to kill Nawab Akbar Bugti, a popular tribal leader, in the volatile province of Balochistan, in 2006.