Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Pakistan’s top court rules against lifetime bans from office

“The ruling goes in the favour of Nawaz Sharif, who will now be able to contest the elections, which will pave the way for his return to power,” analyst Zahid Hussain said

Pakistan’s top court rules against lifetime bans from office

Pakistan's supreme court ruled on Monday (8) that lifetime bans from office are unconstitutional, clearing the final obstacle in former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's path to running for re-election in polls in four weeks.

Pakistan will vote in elections on February 8, with rights groups warning the ballot will lack credibility as popular opposition leader Imran Khan has been jailed and barred from contesting.


Three-time prime minister Sharif - regarded as the favourite in Khan's absence - was last ousted by the supreme court in 2017, and a subsequent ruling saw him barred from office for life over graft.

He left jail for self-imposed exile in the UK in 2019, but returned to Pakistan in October and has seen the numerous legal cases plaguing him voided in quick succession.

Analysts say the 74-year-old is benefiting from a reformed relationship with the powerful military establishment, which has long dictated the politicians who hold high office.

On Monday, a supreme court ruling said it cannot enforce lifetime bans from office, because it "abridges the fundamental right of citizens to contest elections and vote for a candidate of their choice".

Nawaz's brother Shehbaz passed legislation in his tenure as prime minister last year dictating that bans from office be limited to five years.

Doubts had lingered that the move might clash with the decision barring Nawaz and numerous other politicians under a constitutional clause demanding they be "honest and righteous".

But the supreme court ruled the constitution does not dictate a disqualification period and backed the five-year ban legislated last year, saying it made exclusions subject to "the due process of law".

"The ruling goes in the favour of Nawaz Sharif, who will now be able to contest the elections, which will pave the way for his return to power," analyst Zahid Hussain said.

"These clauses of the constitution have been very ambiguous, but now with this ruling a sword hanging over the politicians has been removed."

Sharif is set to lead his Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) into the ballot, although campaigning has yet to kick off.

His opponent and former prime minister Khan, 71, has not been allowed to register his candidacy on the basis of his own graft conviction last year.

Khan was ousted by a parliamentary no-confidence vote in 2022 after souring relations with the military's top brass - historically the bane of elected leaders in Pakistan.

But he waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance, accusing them of conspiring with the United States to end his term and of plotting an assassination attempt which saw him wounded.

He has been jailed since August, buried under an avalanche of legal cases, while his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has been largely dismantled by a crackdown.

Sharif - who has never completed a full term as prime minister - has always maintained his numerous corruption convictions were politically motivated.

Like Khan, he once blamed the military establishment for engineering them, but has tempered his anti-army rhetoric as his fortunes have transformed over the past months.

More For You

Slough Council writes off £382,000 in unpaid business rates

Two companies that owed the money had dissolved, while a third – which owed the largest amount – had gone into liquidation.

CRM

Slough Council writes off £382,000 in unpaid business rates

Nick Clark

AN ‘eyewatering’ £382,000 in unpaid business rates has been written off by Slough Borough Council with the agreement of council leaders – with one branding the sum ‘frightening’.

Leading councillors voted to approve the write off last Monday (17), after all attempts to collect the debt – owed by just three companies – had been ‘exhausted’. Councillor Wal Chahal, responsible for finance, said: “It’s an eyewatering number to be writing off, it’s just frightening.

Keep ReadingShow less
man-city-getty

Last year, Manchester City and Techno India Group launched the first Manchester City Football School in India, based in Kolkata. (Representational image: Getty)

Manchester City signs MoU to open sports school in Bengal: Mamata Banerjee

MAMATA BANERJEE, chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal, has announced that Manchester City has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a sports school in the state.

The Premier League club, which has won the league title for four consecutive seasons, is expanding its football education initiatives in the region.

Keep ReadingShow less
IMF Finalizes £1 Billion Loan Agreement for Pakistan

The IMF said in a statement on Tuesday that the 28-month agreement aims to support Pakistan’s efforts in tackling climate change. (Photo: Reuters)

REUTERS

IMF announces agreement on £1 bn loan deal for Pakistan

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached an agreement with Pakistan on a new £1 billion loan programme and reviewed an existing bailout, which could unlock an additional £770 million if approved.

The IMF said in a statement on Tuesday that the 28-month agreement aims to support Pakistan’s efforts in tackling climate change.

Keep ReadingShow less
Akshata Murty appointed trustee of Victoria and Albert Museum

Akshata Murty

Akshata Murty appointed trustee of Victoria and Albert Museum

FORMER prime minister Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, has been appointed as one of six new trustees to the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London.

In her new role, Murty will help in scrutinising and promoting the museum’s work, collaborating alongside current V&A chairman Tristram Hunt, it was announced last Friday (21).

Keep ReadingShow less