Islamabad: Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif has been banned from politics or holding public office for life. The Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that any person declared dishonest and not righteous by it should not hold any public office. The ruling ended doubts about the duration of last year’s disqualification of Sharif from office for failing to disclose his assets and wealth before contesting the 2013 general elections.
The decision of a five-member bench, stated that the disqualification of any member of Parliament or a public servant under Article 62 (1) (f) of the Constitution in the future will be permanent. “Such a person cannot contest elections or become a member of Parliament,” the verdict read. The ruling also ended the political career of Jehangir Khan Tareen, a senior leader of Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party. Tareen was disqualified last year for not declaring his UK assets to tax authorities.
In 2009 and 2010, when the then ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) proposed removal of Article 62, Nawaz Sharif had opposed it, believing the move would upset the powerful military establishment. “Nawaz Sharif has been caught in his own trap as he himself had supported Article 62,” Khurshed Shah, leader of the opposition in National Assembly, said.
Last year on July 28, the Supreme Court had disqualified Sharif for being dishonest for concealing in his nomination papers the receivable income from his son’s UAE company. Interestingly, his disqualification in the Panama papers leak case was not made on the basis of the corruption charges related to the scam. In February this year, the SC had disqualified the ex-PM from holding the party’s top slot.
Sharif is at present also facing dozens of corruption cases in the accountability court. Decisions in these cases are expected ahead of the general elections. The charges against him, if proven, could land him in jail for 21years.
