Supreme Court of Pakistan scrapped lifetime bans from contesting elections for people with past convictions. Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Qazi Faez Isa read the order in a live telecast broadcast on the court’s website. This paves the way for former Pakistan’s prime minister Nawaz Sharif to run in next month’s national election.
Three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif came to the country last year ending four years of self-imposed exile. The former premier had not set foot in Pakistan since he left for London in 2019 to receive medical treatment while serving a 14-year prison sentence for corruption.
The bench announced the verdict with a 6-1 majority as Justice Yahya Afridi disagreed with his fellow judges, backing the apex court’s previous judgment.
The Supreme Court declared that no person can be barred for a lifetime from running in elections if they are disqualified under Article 62 (1)(f), setting aside its landmark judgment in the Samiullah Baloch case.
The legal conundrum arose after the parliament passed the amendments in the Elections Act 2017, restricting the disqualification period of a politician to five years, instead of a lifetime, contrary to the SC’s order, which deemed disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) as “permanent”.
The latest judgment finally allows Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif and Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) chief Jahangir Tareen to run for office as they were disqualified for life.
After relief in Avenfield and Al-Azizia references, the final obstacle was Nawaz’s lifetime disqualification in the Panama case, but now that has also been removed. Now PML-N supremo is free to contest the election and run the campaign.
