Pakistan Nawaz Sharif: The Parliament of Pakistan has passed a bill to ensure that no person is disqualified from being a member of the House for life. The opposition has alleged that this bill is an exercise to clear the way for former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s return to the country and his participation in the upcoming elections.
Nawaz Sharif was the Prime Minister of Pakistan thrice
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (73) was disqualified by a five-member bench of the High Court in 2017. After the High Court’s order in 2018, he was disqualified under the law to become an MP for life. Nawaz has been living in London since November 2019 for medical treatment. He served three times as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Before going to London, he was serving a seven-year sentence in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail in the Al-Azizia corruption case. According to the news of the newspaper Dawn, Parliament on Friday (June 16) passed a bill to limit the disqualification of MPs to five years.
Proposal for amendment in qualification included
It came a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appealed to his elder brother Nawaz Sharif to return home, lead the party’s campaign for the general election and become the country’s prime minister for a record fourth time. A copy of the bill was presented in the Senate on Friday, which includes a proposal to amend Section-232 (qualification and disqualification) of the Election Act 2017.
As per the amendments, if there is no specific provision for disqualification in the Constitution, then the eligibility of a person to be a Member of Parliament will be determined according to the criteria laid down under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.
‘Making disqualification provisions ineffective’
According to the amendments, any person disqualified through a court decision will be disqualified for a maximum period of five years from the day of announcement of the decision. As per the amendments, the disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) shall not exceed five years. The Senate also approved an amendment empowering the Election Commission of Pakistan to announce the date of the election.
At the same time, the opposition has termed it as a person-specific law and an attempt to ensure Nawaz Sharif’s participation in the upcoming elections. Jamaat-e-Islami MP Mushtaq Ahmed said that there is no ambiguity in Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution. He alleged that the government wants to gradually make the provisions of qualification and disqualification ineffective.
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