Time is running out for Nawaz Sharif

Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan have a limited window of opportunity to have their convictions overturned so they can compete in the 2018 general elections.

Since the election date, February 8, 2023, has been established, these prominent figures have over a month to obtain judicial clearance before they may run for office.

In order to hold elections on February 8, the Pakistani Election Commission must declare the polling schedule early the following month. Elections must be held on a schedule of at least 54 days. It implies that within the first week of December 2023, the ECP would have to declare the election schedule.

The primary obstacle facing both Nawaz Sharif and Imran is their ineligibility to run for office or occupy any kind of public office. They are not eligible because they were found guilty by several courts.

In the Toshakhana case, Imran Khan was found guilty. The Islamabad High Court has stayed his sentence in this case, but the conviction remains in place.

Imran Khan needs to be found not guilty in the Toshakhana case in order to be qualified to run in the elections. Only if the IHC schedules a prompt hearing for Imran’s appeal of his conviction would it be feasible.

These appeals in criminal cases are scheduled for hearing by IHC according to their turn. Second, it may take some time for the appeals hearing to conclude.

In addition to resolving his lifelong disqualification in the Panama case, Nawaz Sharif must receive an IHC acquittal in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia trials.

Nawaz Sharif’s appeals in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases have been resurrected by IHC, however, a hearing date has not yet been set for these appeals. Although it is anticipated that these appeals will be resolved quickly, Nawaz Sharif’s permanent banishment from politics stems from his disqualification in the Panama case.

The Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the SC Practices and Procedures Act 2023 has made it less likely that Nawaz Sharif will be able to overturn his conviction.

Despite upholding the Act, the Supreme Court disapproved of Section 5’s subsection (2), which granted a retroactive right of appeal. That particular subsection was ruled to be beyond the scope of the Constitution. Nawaz Sharif was permanently barred from the political arena, and his ability to file an appeal against this decision was refused.

The PMLN is now relying on another contentious statute, the Election Act 2017 as revised in 2023 during the PDM government’s mandate, to argue that Nawaz Sharif’s lifelong disqualification is no longer applicable in light of the apex court’s decision to strike down subsection (2) of Section 5.

Section 232 (Qualifications and Disqualifications) of the Election Act, 2017 was amended to change the duration of disqualification to five years. It said that the five-year maximum disqualification period under Article 62 of the Constitution would apply.

In cases where the Constitution does not specify the duration of the punishment, a legislator’s disqualification will be regarded for five years. Since the Supreme Court did not pronounce Nawaz Sharif to be Sadiq and Ameen in the Panama case, he was disqualified under Article 62(1)(f).

The PMLN is confident that Nawaz will benefit from the Election Act reform; he won’t even need to file a case with the Supreme Court because his five-year disqualification period has already expired.

Others, including some independent legal experts, maintain that Nawaz Sharif’s life disqualification cannot be shortened to five years based on a change in the law without a constitutional modification or a decision by the Supreme Court.

Additionally, the aforementioned modification runs counter to the Supreme Court’s ruling that disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) was permanent. Some people think that the Pakistan Bar Council’s petition, spearheaded by Ahsan Bhoon, which contested lawmakers’ lifetime disqualification, is Nawaz’s sole chance for salvation.