The National Assembly passed amendments to the election bill on Sunday which clears the way to end the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif and Jahangir Tareen.

The bill has already been passed by the Senate and takes the power to election dates away from president and gives total control over it to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Previously the date had to be announced by the president in consultation with the ECP.

However, the main part of the bill passed by the assembly today makes changes to section 57 of the act, pertaining to disqualification.

It says that in case the law does not define how long the disqualification will be, a person will not be disqualified for more than five years.

The bill also says that any person disqualified by a court judgement will be inelgible for parliament for a maximum of five years beginning from the moment of sentencing.

The bill also says that the disqualification criteria followed will bt the one set under Articles 62, 63 and the Act will aplly in case they don’t apply.

Nawaz Sharif and jahangir Tareen were both disqualified in 2017 and the five year duration that would now apply to them is already over. They will be eligible to head a political party and contest elections as soon as the bill is signed into law.

Furthermore the bill is likely to avoid the hurdle of presidential signing, as President Arif Alvi has left the country for Hajj. Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani will serve in his stead.

Legal committee formed for Nawaz Sharif’s return

A legal committee was formed to pave the way for the return of PML-N’s Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan, sources said.

The committee, headed by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar includes Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Interior and Legal Affairs Ata Tarar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability Irfan Qadir, Sharif’s lawyer Amjad Pervaiz along with other lawyers, they added.

The committee will expedite the legal process to end Sharif’s disqualification and other cases against him. The legal committee will also work towards removing any legal barriers to his return to the country.

The possibility of Sharif’s return was increased after the Senate passed amendments to the Election Act changing the limitations of how long a parliamentarian can be disqualified.

In the rules passed by the upper house on June 17, in cases where the duration has not been specifically outlined, a person’s disqualification to run for provincial or central legislatures will not exceed five years.

He also has a chance to overturn his disqualifications, with the help of four sections of the Supreme Court (Review of Judgements and Orders) Act 2023.

Reports said a meeting could take place between Sharif and PPP leadership after he arrived in Dubai from London on June 25, reportedly accompanied by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who was returning from a global summit in Paris.

His daughter Maryam Nawaz has also reached Dubai from Lahore. The arrivals were confirmed by party spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb.

Reports said that PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari would also arrive in Dubai in a few days and would also be accompanied by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.