Khawaja Asif (PTI/File Photo)
The Islamabad High Court on Thursday disqualified Pakistan foreign minister Khawaja Asif from Parliament for holding a work permit of the United Arab Emirates. The court's order effectively means that Asif is no longer eligible to hold public office.
The court's ruling also means that Khawaja Asif can not contest elections for the rest of his life. The court's order has come on a petition filed by Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party leader Usman Dar. PTI is headed by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan.
Earlier this month, Pakistan's Supreme Court disqualified former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from holding public office or contesting elections for lifetime in a landmark verdict.
The court had disqualified Sharif as Prime Minister over corruption charges in July last year but it had not mentioned the disqualification period in the verdict.
The five judges, in an unanimous ruling, said those who were not "honest" and "truthful" under the country's constitution were "banned from parliament for life".
