After much deliberation, the Supreme Court of Pakistan Monday ended the lifetime disqualification of lawmakers, recalling its earlier order of disbarring politicians from running for office ever.
The Supreme Court declared that no person can be barred for a lifetime from running in elections if they are disqualified under Article 62 (1)(f), setting aside its landmark judgment in the Samiullah Baloch case.
A seven-member larger bench — headed by CJP Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali — conducted the hearings of the case.
The proceedings were broadcast live on the apex court’s website.
The legal conundrum arose after the parliament passed the amendments in the Elections Act 2017, restricting the disqualification period of a politician to five years, instead of a lifetime, contrary to the SC’s order, which deemed disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) as “permanent”.
