‘Banned’ ex-minister to contest election
KARACHI: Former Pakistani foreign minister Khawaja Asif will be allowed to contest a July 25 general election after the Supreme Court yesterday overturned his disqualification from politics, in a boost to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.
Mr Asif, a staunch ally of ousted prime minister and PML-N founder Nawaz Sharif, was disqualified from parliament by a lower court in April as he was deemed not “honest” under a constitutional provision also used to oust Mr Sharif.
Mr Asif was removed for not declaring his employment and a source income from a United Arab Emirates (UAE) company, but the top court overturned the earlier ruling, which carried a lifetime ban from politics.
“God has granted mercy on a sinner like me, there is no count of God’s blessings. I am thankful to the judiciary,” Mr Asif tweeted shortly after the verdict was announced.
Munir Malik, a senior member of Mr Asif’s counsel, told the Englishlanguage Dawn newspaper that Mr Asif “can contest the upcoming election” after the ruling.
Mr Asif, one of Pakistan’s most prominent politicians, is part of Mr Sharif’s inner circle and one of the most senior figures in the ruling party.
He earlier headed the defence and power ministries and was foreign minister until the court disqualified him.
The Supreme Court’s decision will have come as a surprise to many PML-N figures who have criticised the judiciary for bringing about a slew of cases against party officials and alleged bias from judges.
The judiciary and, in particular, the chief justice, Saqib Nisar, deny favouring any party.