The Supreme Court of Pakistan, in a ruling on Monday, invalidated the lifetime disqualification of lawmakers under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution. The court decided that politicians could only be barred from holding office for a period of five years, overturning the previous lifetime ban.
A seven-member bench, headed by the Chief Justice and comprising Justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Yahya Afridi, Aminuddin Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, and Musarrat Hilali, delivered the verdict on several petitions questioning the duration of disqualification for lawmakers.
This decision overturns the disqualification of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and IPP Chairman Jahangir Tareen. The majority ruled 6-1 in favor of revoking the lifetime ban, with Justice Yahya Afridi supporting the court's previous judgment.
The court specified that Article 62(1)(f) did not independently define the court responsible for issuing disqualification nor the duration of the ban, violating the right to a fair trial and due process under Article 10A of the Constitution.
It concluded that interpreting Article 62(1)(f) to impose a lifelong disqualification based on a civil court's implied declaration exceeded its scope and contradicted citizens' fundamental rights to contest elections, as outlined in Article 17 of the Constitution.
The court emphasized that until legislation was enacted to enforce the provision, Article 62(1)(f) functioned as a guideline for voters without imposing a lifetime ban similar to other clauses in Article 62(1).
Additionally, the court highlighted recent amendments to the Elections Act, which limited disqualification to five years and subjected such judgments to due legal procedures, rendering any further examination unnecessary.
