Pakistan National Assembly Passes Bill, Paving Way for Nawaz Sharif's Return
© AP Photo / K.M. Chaudary
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In 2017, the country's Supreme Court banned former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from holding public office for life over corruption charges.
In what is being viewed as a major churn in the politics of Pakistan, the country's National Assembly on Sunday passed a bill that limits the disqualification period of lawmakers to only five years, local media reported on Monday.
The development is significant given that it would allow ex-premier Nawaz Sharif to recommence active politics in Pakistan. The nation's apex court put a lifelong ban on Nawaz from contesting elections six years ago.
Nawaz is the brother of current Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and still holds considerable sway in the country. He has been living in exile in London after he was allowed to leave Pakistan in 2019 on medical grounds.
However, Nawaz has never returned to Pakistan, fearing persecution by the erstwhile Imran Khan government that ruled Islamabad at that stage.
The development is significant given that it would allow ex-premier Nawaz Sharif to recommence active politics in Pakistan. The nation's apex court put a lifelong ban on Nawaz from contesting elections six years ago.
Nawaz is the brother of current Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and still holds considerable sway in the country. He has been living in exile in London after he was allowed to leave Pakistan in 2019 on medical grounds.
However, Nawaz has never returned to Pakistan, fearing persecution by the erstwhile Imran Khan government that ruled Islamabad at that stage.
Though Shehbaz is the incumbent PM, his brother Nawaz is still the supreme leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) or PML-N, the political outfit he founded in 1993.
The PML-N has a long history of ruling Pakistan with their maiden stint in power coming in 1997 with Nawaz becoming the Prime Minister for the first time before a military coup by General Pervez Musharraf ousted him from the country's top post.
Currently, the PML-N has the highest number of lawmakers (87) in the National Assembly and is the main constituent of the ruling coalition comprising the once fierce rival Peoples Party of Pakistan (PPP).
With national elections scheduled to take place at the end of this year in Pakistan, Nawaz's return to the country could galvanize party workers, especially at a time when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan appears to have received tremendous support from ordinary citizens of the nation.
Khan has labeled the current coalition governing Pakistan as the government of the corrupt while positioning himself as the champion of the rights of the poor, urging the people to oust the PML-N and the PPP alliance from power in the forthcoming general elections.
The PML-N has a long history of ruling Pakistan with their maiden stint in power coming in 1997 with Nawaz becoming the Prime Minister for the first time before a military coup by General Pervez Musharraf ousted him from the country's top post.
Currently, the PML-N has the highest number of lawmakers (87) in the National Assembly and is the main constituent of the ruling coalition comprising the once fierce rival Peoples Party of Pakistan (PPP).
With national elections scheduled to take place at the end of this year in Pakistan, Nawaz's return to the country could galvanize party workers, especially at a time when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan appears to have received tremendous support from ordinary citizens of the nation.
Khan has labeled the current coalition governing Pakistan as the government of the corrupt while positioning himself as the champion of the rights of the poor, urging the people to oust the PML-N and the PPP alliance from power in the forthcoming general elections.
