Pakistan's top court rules ousted leader can't head political party

Several opposition political parties then challenged the law, and on Wednesday, a three-member Supreme Court panel headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar ruled that anyone disqualified from holding public office cannot lead a political party.

In the ruling, Nisar wrote that all steps taken, orders passed, directions given and documents issued by Sharif after his disqualification in July 2017 are “also declared to have never been taken, passed, given or issued in the eyes of the law.” Sharif can ask the panel for a review of the decision, but that seems unlikely.

The court ruling means that the coming Senate election, scheduled for March 3, is likely to be delayed.

The party, known as PML-N, must now scramble to find a new leader although the real power may continue to rest with Sharif, who is expected to still make major decisions.

Opposition parties welcomed Wednesday’s verdict.

“PML-N has tried to contaminate politics by opening doors for party presidency to a disqualified person,” said Fawad Chaudhry, a spokesman for Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party.

“It is a disgrace to the constitution to appoint a person who has been disqualified by the court for dishonesty and corruption,” Chaudhry said in a statement to the media, adding that the PML-N should elect a new leader and move forward.

Sharif was removed from power after a corruption investigation by the country’s top court last year. He and his three children — two sons and a daughter — were accused of amassing huge amounts of money in offshore companies and of owning expensive properties in London.

The court, however, disqualified Sharif for not declaring a salary from one of his son’s companies. He has said he never received that amount and was not bound to declare it.

Since the ouster, Sharif has embarked on a forceful public campaign, claiming that he was removed as a result of political vendetta and on a weak legal argument. He has maintained that he and the ruling party are being singled out by the top court, which he claims is supported by Pakistan’s powerful military establishment. The military and the court’s justices deny the accusations.

Sharif’s messages have resonated in parts of the electorate, chiefly his base in Punjab, the province that traditionally decides the country’s political fortune. The governing party has won several recent polls with a resounding majority.

The electoral victories, though, have come at a time of increasing clashes with the Supreme Court and a more activist role by Nisar. That, in turn, has raised criticism that the court is overreaching.

On Tuesday, a day before the panel’s ruling, Nisar lashed out at his critics, saying in a speech that the “constitution is higher than the Parliament.” That was widely seen as a response to remarks by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, a Sharif loyalist, that the court was insulting politicians and denying lawmakers the right to legislate.

Analysts said the court verdict was a setback for Sharif but one that he could use to his advantage.

“For Nawaz Sharif, the court ruling has come at a very wrong time procedurally,” said Talat Hussain, a popular talk show host and columnist. “He was counting on having his candidates in the Senate, and now that is in a state of limbo.”

Sharif’s party was hoping to emerge as the single largest party in the Senate election.

“But in the larger political context, Nawaz has proved that his grievance was right, that he has been singled out,” Hussain said “So, Nawaz’s political narrative is going to be strengthened. And when efforts have been made to oust him from seats of power, he will win the popular court.”

Governing party politicians and Sharif family members cast the verdict as another example of the court’s bias against Sharif.

“PML-N does not need to be told who their leader should be,” Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Sharif’s daughter and political heir, said in an interview. “Nawaz Sharif’s bond with people has survived all tests of time and tyranny.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Pakistan's top court rules ousted leader can't head political party

In October, Sharif’s party, the governing Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, succeeded in passing a law that allowed him to continue to lead the party despite a disputed court ruling in July that removed him from the prime minister’s office.

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