Pakistan passes law paving way for return of exiled ex-PM

Pakistan’s national assembly has passed legislation limiting the time lawmakers can be barred from office, a state spokesman said on Tuesday, paving the way for exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s return to politics.

Sharif served as Pakistan’s prime minister three times, the last time before he was ousted on corruption charges in 2017.

The Supreme Court barred him from politics for life and he was later sentenced to seven years in jail.

In 2019, he was granted medical bail and flew to Britain, where he has remained ever since, continuing to run the family party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) behind the scenes.

His brother Shehbaz Sharif became Prime Minister last year, and the country is due to hold new general elections no later than October.

On Tuesday, a government spokesman said the interim president had signed into law an amendment saying courts can only disqualify MPs “for a period not exceeding five years.”

The spokesman said Senate President Sadiq Sanjrani served as acting president and signed the bill on Monday, 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 back Nawaz Sharif,” said political analyst Hasan Askari. AFP. “The bill has been passed to achieve this goal.”

“Nawaz Sharif will be the main supporter of the PML-N in the upcoming elections,” he added. “His return of him will be very useful politically for the party, but it is not clear if he himself will contest the elections.”

Mr Sharif is still facing the corruption case that saw him sentenced during the tenure of his successor, Imran Khan, who gained power by vowing to undo the corruption that has historically plagued the country.

But in Pakistan, legal cases embroiling opposition politicians often recede once their party is back in office.

Shehbaz ousted Khan last April by a vote of no confidence. However, he is at the head of a shaky coalition of parties, while Khan remains very popular as the election counts down.

Khan has been calling for early elections, but his campaign has been bogged down in dozens of legal cases.

Last month he was briefly arrested on corruption charges in Islamabad, sparking deadly riots during which supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party took to the streets and clashed with police.

Following their release after three days in custody, PTI has been the target of a crackdown with thousands of arrests, reports of intimidation and gagging of the press.

Khan says his party is being suppressed by the government, led by PML-N, and the powerful military establishment.