Pakistan's Supreme Court Overturns Lifetime Ban on Convicted Politicians

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif now eligible to run for a fourth term in the upcoming February 8 general elections.

Pakistan's Supreme Court has scrapped lifetime bans on politicians with convictions from contesting elections, now only barring them for five years.
The ruling allows former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to run for a fourth term in the upcoming February 8 general elections.
Sharif's main rival, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, remains barred from contesting the polls for five years due to a separate corruption case.
The lifetime ban on convicted politicians was imposed in 2018, and this new ruling goes against a previous judgment from the same court.
The decision has settled the controversy around the period of disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution and the Elections Act 2017.