Ousted Pakistan PM barred from holding office for life

PAKISTAN’S supreme court disqualified Nawaz Sharif, the deposed prime minister, from holding office for life yesterday amid an ongoing corruption trial and ahead of general elections due this year.

The court barred Mr Sharif, 67, from politics in July over an undeclared source of income, but the veteran leader maintains his grip on the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-N) party, even though he is no longer its leader.

The ruling addressed an ambiguity over whether he was barred for life or for a specific period for not being honest. The ruling was an interpretation of a constitutional article that has been used to remove legislators from office before, a senior lawyer said.

Mr Sharif and his family have called the corruption proceedings a conspiracy, hinting at intervention by the military, but opponents have hailed them as a rare example of the rich and powerful being held accountable. The military denies any such intervention.

Maryam Aurangzeb, the information minister, told reporters “nameless and faceless people” had interfered to orchestrate Mr Sharif’s political demise and the downfall of the PML-N.

Mr Sharif is currently appearing before an accountability court in Islamabad on other charges linked to London properties his family owns – proceedings ordered by the supreme court – that could see him jailed if found guilty.