ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday reserved its judgment on petitions seeking to determine the disqualification period for a lawmaker.
A seven-member larger bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa reserved the verdict after all the respondents concluded their arguments.
During the proceedings, the CJP observed that the court would soon announce the short order.
Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan and Jahangir Tareen’s lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan gave arguments before the bench.
The Supreme Court had taken notice of the lifetime disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) in the appeal of former MPA Mir Badshah Qaisrani against his disqualification.
It is pertinent to mention that the law is the same under which former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party Chairman Jahangir Tareen were disqualified.
The Supreme Court in a 2018 judgment had ruled that disqualification handed down under Article 62(1)(f) was supposed to be permanent.
However, in June 2023, an amendment was brought in the Elections Act 2017, specifying the period of the electoral disqualification for five years.
Justice Isa at the previous hearing, regretted that constitutional amendments dealing with the disqualification of parliamentarian under Article 62(1)(f) were thrust upon parliament under strange circumstances, without any debate.
Advocate Makhdoom Ali Khan, representing Jahangir Khan Tareen, argued that the Samiullah Baloch case created a complete disconnect between Article 62 and Article 63 of the Constitution regarding disqualification of a lawmaker.
Qazi Faez Isa in remarks said lifetime disqualification under Article 62(1)(F) was determined according to one’s own perception and not the Constitution.
