In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has declared lifetime disqualification for lawmakers under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution ‘null and void,’ ruling that individuals disqualified under this provision can only be barred from holding office for a period of five years.
The seven-member larger bench, led by the Chief Justice of Pakistan and including Justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Yahya Afridi, Aminuddin Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, and Musarrat Hilali, announced the verdict on petitions aimed at clarifying the duration of disqualification for lawmakers.
This ruling brings a significant shift from a previous unanimous decision in 2018, where a five-judge bench held that disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) was a lifetime penalty. The decision now opens the door for politicians, including major figures like former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and IPP Chairman Jahangir Tareen, who were disqualified under this provision.
The Supreme Court emphasized that no person can be barred for a lifetime from participating in elections under Article 62(1)(f), providing renewed hope for politicians eyeing a return to electoral contests.
Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution, which requires members of parliament to be ‘sadiq and ameen’ (honest and righteous), had played a pivotal role in disqualifying Nawaz Sharif in 2017 over the Panama Papers references. Similarly, the PTI founder faced disqualification under the same article in the Toshakhana case in 2023.
This decision comes against the backdrop of a legislative amendment in June of the previous year, where the then-coalition government amended the Elections Act 2017, limiting the disqualification of lawmakers to a maximum of five years.
