Pakistan’s national assembly passed legislation that limits how long lawmakers can be disqualified from holding office, a state spokesman said. With this, exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif could return to politics. Nawaz Sharif served as Pakistan’s prime minister three times after being ousted on graft charges in 2017. He was then banned from politics for life by the country’s top court. He was later sentenced to seven years in prison.
Pakistan’s former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, was convicted in one of three corruption cases. (Reuters)
In 2019, Nawaz Sharif was granted medical bail. He then flew to Britain, where he has remained ever since, while continuing to lead his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party. His brother Shehbaz Sharif became prime minister last year and the country plans to hold new general elections this year.
On Tuesday, a government spokesman said the amendment that says courts can only disqualify MPs “for a period not exceeding five years” has been approved. Senate President Sadiq Sanjrani served as Acting Speaker signing the bill in the absence of Speaker Arif Alvi.
“The ruling PML-N and its coalition partners want Nawaz Sharif back,” political analyst Hasan Askari told AFP.
“The bill has been passed to achieve this goal. Nawaz Sharif will be the main supporter of PML-N in the upcoming elections,” he added.
“His return will be very useful for the party politically, but it is not clear whether he himself will stand in the elections,” he continued.
Nawaz Sharif is still facing the graft case that saw him convicted during the tenure of Imran Khan, who was ousted by Shehbaz Sharif last April through a vote of no confidence. As Imran Khan remains very popular in the countdown to the polls, he has been calling for early elections, but his campaign has been bogged down by legal cases.
