Nawaz Sharif can contest elections: Pakistan law minister on disqualification

Pakistan law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif's lifetime disqualification has ended, and now he is eligible to contest elections. He further said that the dissolution of Pakistan's national assembly before its tenure cannot be ruled in the current political situation. Once the tenure ends, a caretaker set up will be established he said.

Nawaz Sharif will not face lifetime disqualification anymore as the maximum disqualification period is five years, the minister said.

"If someone thinks that a person is a beneficiary of these amendments, then it would be someone else tomorrow. It is the constitutional jurisdiction of the Parliament to legislate and amend laws. The legislation work cannot be carried out by any institutions other than the Parliament," he said.

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Not a single decision can be made without consultations with the coalition partners in the government, he continued.

Earlier, Pakistan's national assembly passed legislation limiting how long lawmakers can be disqualified from office. Nawaz Sharif served as Pakistan's prime minister three times after he was ousted over graft allegations in 2017. The country's top court then barred him from politics for life. He was later sentenced to seven years in jail.

In 2019, Nawaz Sharif was granted medical bail after which he flew to Britain where he has remained ever since as he continues to steer his party. His brother Shehbaz Sharif became prime minister last year.

"The ruling PML-N and its coalition partners want to bring Nawaz Sharif back," political analyst Hasan Askari had earlier told AFP, explaining, “The bill has been passed to achieve this objective. Nawaz Sharif will be the main campaigner for PML-N in the next election. His return will be very helpful for the party politically, but it's not clear whether he himself will contest the election.”

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