File photo of former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif.
In a landmark judgement, the Pakistan Supreme Court on Friday disqualified former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from holding office for life. The verdict is expected to change the course of the country's political history.
According to Dawn online, the verdict was delivered unanimously by a five-judge bench of the top court.
Sharif was disqualified under the Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution as per which he will be unable to contest elections for the rest of his life.
Article 62, which sets the precondition for a member of parliament to be "sadiq and ameen" (honest and righteous), is the same provision under which Sharif, 68, was disqualified on July 28, 2017, in the Panama Papers case.
Likewise, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen was disqualified on December 15 last year by a separate bench of the apex court under the same provision.
Following the verdict, both Sharif and Tareen have become ineligible to ever hold public office.
It has been stated in the decision read out by Justice Umar Ata Bandial that the disqualification of any member of parliament or a public servant under Article 62 in the future will be permanent.
Such a person cannot contest elections or become a member of parliament.
- With agency inputs
