Pakistan Senate passes bill to limit disqualification period; Opposition calls it attempt to ensure Nawaz Sharif’s participation in polls

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Senate has passed a bill to ensure no parliamentarian is disqualified for a lifetime, a move termed by the Opposition as an attempt to clear the way for former premier Nawaz Sharif’s return to the country and his participation in the upcoming elections.

Nawaz Sharif was disqualified in 2017 by a five-member bench of the Supreme Court. In 2018, he became ineligible to hold public office for life after a Supreme Court verdict.

The 73-year-old former premier has been living in London since November 2019 for medical treatment after a Pakistani court allowed him a four-week reprieve.

Nawaz Sharif, who has served as the prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, was serving seven-year imprisonment in the Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore in the Al-Azizia corruption case before he left for London.

The Senate on Friday passed the bill seeking to limit the disqualification of lawmakers to five years with retrospective effect, the Dawn newspaper reported.

The move comes a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged his elder brother Nawaz Sharif, the PML-N supremo, to return from London and lead the poll campaign of the party in the general election and become the premier of the nation for a record fourth time.

A copy of the bill presented in the Senate on Friday included an amendment to Section 232 (Qualifications and Disqualifications) of the Election Act, 2017.

The amendments say that a person’s eligibility to become a member of parliament will be decided according to the criteria set under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

The amendment added that the procedure, manner and duration of disqualifications and qualifications should be as specifically provided for in relevant provisions of Articles 63 and 64 of the Constitution.

“Where no such procedure, manner or duration has been provided for therein, the provisions of this Act shall apply,” it added.

Any person disqualified through a court decision will be disqualified for a maximum of 5 years starting from the day the verdict is announced. Disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) will not extend beyond five years.

Senate also passed amendments giving the right of announcing the date of election to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The Opposition termed it “person-specific legislation” and an attempt to ensure Nawaz Sharif’s participation in the upcoming elections.

The earlier two attempts by the PML-N-led coalition govt to reverse the lifetime disqualification of a person have failed.

The Supreme Court is hearing two legislations, including “The Supreme Court Review of Judgments and Orders Bill 2023” and the law to limit the Chief Justice’s powers.

These legislations were also termed as an attempt to reverse Nawaz Sharif’s lifetime disqualification.

During the debate on the bill, the Opposition was asked not to oppose it, with a warning that “this sword might be used against former premier Imran Khan as well”.

Senator Mushtaq Ahmad of Jamaat-i-Islami said there was no ambiguity in Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution. He alleged that the government wanted to render qualification and disqualification clauses ineffective gradually.

The sources in the ruling coalition claimed it is unfair for the parliamentarians who have been disqualified for a lifetime under Article 62 of the Constitution, the Geo News reported.

There was an ambiguity, and the parliament has now removed it by limiting the disqualification period to five years, they said.

When asked whether the Supreme Court can take notice of this legislation, the sources claimed: “The parliament is supreme and it has the right to legislate and remove any ambiguity if there is any in a law or act. This was due, and it should have been done a long time ago.”

When asked whether this legislation has been introduced to ensure the participation of Nawaz Sharif in the upcoming elections, the sources said it is not just for the PML-N supremo only.

In future, if any leader is disqualified, they too will be the beneficiary of it, as this is not a person-specific legislation, the sources said.

The current National Assembly will complete its five-year term on August 12 and the fresh general election in Pakistan must be conducted within 60 days as per the Constitution of Pakistan.