Former Pakistan PM gets lifetime election ban

Prime minister Nawaz Sharif resigned in July after the Supreme Court disqualified him from holding office over an undeclared source of income. (Reuters)

• Supreme Court chief justice said the Pakistani people deserve leaders of good character
• Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) criticized the decision, with one minister saying: “Nawaz Sharif lives in the hearts of the people.”

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been permanently disqualified from contesting elections or holding public office following a Supreme Court ruling on Friday.
The lifetime ban was handed down by the court in a 60-page verdict that said lawmakers disqualified under Article 62(1)(f) of the constitution cannot hold public office again in their lifetime.
Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Khan Tareen were disqualified by the Supreme Court on July 28 and Dec. 15 last year, respectively, in different cases under the same article of the constitution.
“We are inclined to hold that the incapacity created for failing to meet the qualifications under Article 62 (1)(f) of the constitution imposes a permanent bar,” said the judgment issued unanimously by all five Supreme Court judges.
Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, who was heading the bench, said before the verdict was announced that the public deserves “leaders of good character.”
However, political analysts say the ruling will have political implications, especially for the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), whose leadership, including Sharif and his likely successor Maryam Nawaz, are already facing corruption charges.
Analyst and academic Tahir Malik said the judgment could serve as a boost to the ruling party in the coming elections.
“Sharif and his other party leaders will try to gain public sympathy, saying the court had treated them unfairly,” he told Arab News.
However, that could be unfortunate for the country and its institutions if the PML-N leadership resorts to attacking the Supreme Court on basis of the judgment, he said.
“The verdict should be accepted with an open heart,” he said. “The court has barred Nawaz Sharif from holding a public office, but he is a free man to do politics and address public gatherings.”
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Maryam Aurangzeb said the Pakistani people were the ultimate authority to decide on the disqualification of an individual.
“Nawaz Sharif lives in hearts of the people and they won’t accept his disqualification,” she told Arab News.
The minister said Sharif has been fighting to strengthen democracy in Pakistan and “he will continue doing so irrespective of the courts verdicts.”
Article 62(1)(f) of the constitution reads: “A person shall not be qualified to be elected or chosen as a member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) unless ... he is sagacious, righteous and non-profligate, honest and ameen, there being no declaration to the contrary by a court of law.”
Sharafat Ali, a senior advocate and campaigner for human rights, described the Supreme Court’s judgment as “harsh and against fundamental rights.”
“The court has the authority to interpret the constitution, and it should have set a time period of disqualification of lawmakers to 10 years maximum,” he said.
“If a person is found corrupt and dishonest today, it doesn’t mean he will remain the same for the rest of his life,” he said.
The Supreme Court’s detailed judgment in the case, however, said: “The permanent incapacity of a candidate for election under Article 62 (1)(f) of the constitution is not an arbitrary, excessive or unreasonable curtailment of his fundamental right under Article 17(2) of the Constitution.”