ISLAMABAD: A state spokesperson said Tuesday that Pakistan’s national assembly enacted legislation restricting the length of time legislators can be banned from office, opening the door for exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s return to politics.
Sharif was Pakistan’s prime minister three times, the final time being in 2017 when he was deposed over graft charges.
He was disqualified from politics for life by the Supreme Court, and he was eventually sentenced to seven years in prison.
He was given medical bail in 2019 and travelled to the United Kingdom, where he has resided ever since, steering the family-run Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party from behind the scenes.
His brother, Shehbaz Sharif, was elected Prime Minister last year, and new general elections are scheduled for October.
A government official said on Tuesday that the acting president has signed into law an amendment that states that judges can only disqualify legislators “for a period not exceeding five years.”
According to the spokesman, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani functioned as acting president on Monday, signing the bill in the absence of President Arif Alvi, who is abroad on the Hajj pilgrimage.
“The ruling PML-N and its coalition partners want to bring Nawaz Sharif back,” claimed political analyst Hasan Askari. “The bill was passed to achieve this goal.”
“Nawaz Sharif will be the main campaigner for the PML-N in the next election,” he continued. “His return will be very beneficial to the party politically, but it is unclear whether he will run in the election.”
Sharif is still facing the graft case that saw him convicted during the reign of his successor, Imran Khan, who campaigned on a promise to end the country’s long history of corruption.
However, in Pakistan, court cases that entangle opposition politicians are frequently reopened if their party retakes power.
Shehbaz deposed Khan in an April no-confidence vote. However, he is at the helm of a wobbly coalition of parties, while Khan remains popular in the run-up to the election.
Khan has called for hasty elections, but his campaign has been stymied by scores of legal battles.
Last month, Khan was temporarily detained in Islamabad on graft accusations, prompting fatal riots in which followers of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party rushed onto the streets and clashed with police.
Following his release after three days in detention, the PTI has been targeted by a crackdown that has resulted in thousands of arrests, reports of intimidation, and press censorship.