Islamabad: A seven-member bench of the Supreme Court will take up the issue of lifetime disqualification on Tuesday (January 2).
The larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Jamal Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali will hear the issue of lifetime disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution.
During the last hearing, CJP Faez Isa observed that the Supreme Court’s judgment on lifetime disqualification and the amendments made to the Elections Act 2017 could not exist simultaneously.
He had said either the legislation enacted by the parliament to the Elections Act 2017 would prevail or the judgment, delivered by the Supreme Court.
Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution, which sets the precondition for a member of parliament to be “sadiq and ameen” (honest and righteous), is the same provision under which former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was disqualified in the Panama Papers case. Imran Khan was also disqualified under the same article in the Toshakhana case last year.
The issue of electoral disqualification cropped up in the apex court again last month during the hearing of a petition moved by Sardar Mir Badshah Khan Qaisarani, who had filed nomination papers from constituency NA-189 and PP-240 Taunsa (Dera Ghazi Khan) in 2008 and 2018 elections, respectively.
He was disqualified for producing a fake graduation degree. His appeal is still pending before the Lahore High Court.