Islamabad: The apex court on Wednesday announced it verdict on Election Act 2017, declared former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ineligible to head his own party, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N).
“An individual disqualified under Articles 62 and 63 cannot serve as party head’ said a three-judge Supreme Court (SC) bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar.
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Awami Muslim League, PPP and others petitioned the apex court against the Elections Act 2017.
The CJP, while reading out the verdict in Courtroom 1, said that a person who is disqualified under Article 62 and 63 of the Constitution is not eligible to sign on any document needed to nominate someone.
CJP Nisar, in his remarks, said that it is mandatory for a party head to fulfill the requirements of Articles 62 and 63, as a party head is powerful and political parties control the government.
“It is crucial for parliamentarians to be of good conduct to run the affairs of the parliament,” he said.
During the course of today’s hearing, Additional Attorney General (AAG) Rana Waqar told the SC that the Constitution provides every citizen with the right to join or form a political party.
However, SC remarked that Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification will be effective from July 28, 2017 after his disqualification as a member of the National Assembly.
The court said that a disqualified individual can not be elected or chosen the head of a party under Article 62, 63 of the Constitution.
The verdict came hours after Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar concluded the hearing of multiple petitions challenging the recently-passed Elections Act 2017.
Earlier in the case hearing, Babar Awan, the counsel for PTI, another petitioner in the case, directed the court’s attention towards the upcoming Senate elections and said that a disqualified politician was handing out tickets for Senate candidates from the PML-N.
Awan recalled that South African leader Nelson Mandela expelled his wife from his party but she never said “mujhey kyun nikala” (why was I expelled), a question that has constantly been raised by Nawaz at public gatherings and rallies following his disqualification.
During today’s hearing, the chief justice remarked that the country’s leadership is respectable, adding that the media misreported the court’s remarks.
On the other hand Awami Muslim League (AML) President Sheikh Rashid welcomed the Supreme Court verdict, calling it a historic decision. “We have won another petition against Nawaz Sharif. Our lawyer presented strong arguments before the court,” he said.
It was worth mentioned here that Elections Act 2017 was pushed through the upper and lower houses of the parliament earlier and had paved the way for Nawaz to resume his position as party president after being disqualified in the Panama Papers case.
