Can Nawaz Sharif, disqualified by the Supreme Court from holding public office, come back to active politics? Legal experts and political observers appear equally confused as are ordinary Pakistani citizens.
A five-member bench disqualified Mr. Sharif under articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution, which state that a member of the parliament should be “truthful”.
Tariq Mehmood, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, told the Dawn newspaper that a larger bench of the Supreme Court was seized with a number of cases, in which the moot point was to determine whether disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) was perpetual or not.
Former Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, hearing one of such cases, had wondered how anyone could be disqualified forever, saying people could reform themselves.
Senior lawyer Raheel Kamran Sheikh recalled that former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was disqualified in 2012 from Parliament for committing contempt of court under Article 63, which specified a five -year term. However, under Article 62(1)(f), no period of disqualification has been specified.
According to Ahsan Bhoon, Vice-Chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council, the disqualification of Mr. Sharif was forever.