Apex court strips Sharif of party post

islamabad — The Supreme Court ordered on Wednesday that ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif be removed as head of the political party he founded, six months after the court removed him as premier.

The ruling could throw into disarray Senate elections due on March 3, with opposition figures saying it invalidates candidates from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) who were nominated by Sharif.

Wednesday’s order overturns a legal amendment by PML-N lawmakers allowing the former premier to lead the party despite being legally banned from holding public office after the Supreme Court disqualified him last July over an undeclared source of income.

“The Election Commission is directed to remove name of Nawaz Sharif as president of PML-N from all official records,” Chief Justice Saqib Nisar said from the bench.

“As a result, all steps taken, all orders passed by Nawaz Sharif are also declared to be as if they had never been taken.”

Faisal Chaudhry, a lawyer for one of the 17 petitioners who sought Sharif’s removal as party head, said the court decision includes Sharifnominated candidates for the Senate election.

“My understanding is that the candidates can still contest but as independent and not as Nawaz Sharif’s party ticket holders,” Chaudhry said. Sharif has said his removal from office was part of a political conspiracy against him, and in recent weeks he and his party have waged a war of words against the judiciary.

The PML-N holds a majority in the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, and it has been hopeful of winning control of the Senate in the March 3 election.

Reacting over the court ruling, Talal Chaudhry, a lawmaker from Sharif’s party and junior interior minister, said Sharif is a popular leader and will remain instrumental in politics.

“Sharif cannot be pulled out of the people’s heart through court decisions,” he said.

Maryam Aurangzeb, information minister, said the court ruling was not unexpected. “Such a decision was obvious to come in support of an earlier weak court order which disqualified the most popular prime minister,” she said.

Fawad Chaudhry, spokesman for the Tahrik-e-Insaf party of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, welcomed the court ruling. “It is an historic ruling which will strengthen democracy in this country.”

Constitutional lawyer Farogh Nasim said the ruling could also affect midterm Senate elections next month. He said it effectively annuls all decisions Sharif made as party chief in the interim and those candidates for Senate who were nominated by Sharif cannot take part in the election following the court ruling.

But a former official for the election commission said election authorities can reschedule elections.

Following his ouster, the ruling party managed to amend the Constitution to allow him to retain his chairmanship of the PML-N. As a result, the Elections Act 2017 was passed by Parliament bringing Sharif back as the party president.

The top court had been hearing petitions against the Elections Act 2017 filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Awami Muslim League’s leader Sheikh Rashid, the PPP and others, since January 2018.

Sharif has served as prime minister twice before and each time was removed from office — in 1999 by a military coup and 1993 by presidential order. —Reuters, AP