With the February 8 elections quickly approaching and the fate of several political heavyweights in jeopardy, the Pakistani Supreme Court overturned its previous ruling on Monday, which provided for the permanent disqualification of MPs – a precedent set in the Samiullah Baloch case of 2018.
The case on lifetime disqualification under Article 62 (1)(f) of the Constitution was heard by a seven-member larger bench, which was presided over by CJP Qazi Faez Isa and included Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, and Justice Musarrat Hilali.
The highest court stated in its written ruling that the aforementioned constitutional clause does not, by itself, provide a time limit for disqualification, making it non-self-executive.
The Supreme Court disqualified Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and Jahangir Tareen, the leader of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), for life in July and December 2017, respectively. The 6-1 majority verdict, with Justice Yahya Afridi dissenting, has essentially cleared the way for them to run in the elections.
