Pakistan supreme court clears last hurdle for ex-PM Sharif’s re-run

AFP | Islamabad                                                       

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Pakistan’s supreme court ruled yesterday that lifetime bans from office are unconstitutional, clearing the final obstacle in ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s path to running for re-election in polls in four weeks. Pakistan will vote in elections on February 8, with rights groups warning the ballot will lack credibility with popular opposition leader Imran Khan jailed and barred from contesting.

Three-time prime minister Sharif -- regarded as the favourite in Khan’s absence -- was last ousted by the supreme court in 2017, and a subsequent ruling saw him barred from office for life over graft.

He left jail for self-imposed exile in the UK in 2019, but rturned to Pakistan in October and has seen the numerous legal cases plaguing him voided in quick succession. Analysts say the 74-year-old is benefiting from a reformed relationship with the powerful military establishment, which has long dictated the politicians who hold high office.

On Monday, a supreme court ruling said it cannot enforce lifetime bans from office because it “abridges the fundamental right of citizens to contest elections and vote for a candidate of their choice”.

Nawaz’s brother Shehbaz passed legislation in his tenure as prime minister last year dictating that bans from office be limited to five years. But the supreme court ruled the constitution does not dictate a disqualification period and backed the five-year ban legislated last year, saying it made exclusions subject to “the due process of law”.