Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Friday summoned former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on July 9 over a petition seeking the removal of his name from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) political party.

The notice has been sent to Nawaz Sharif’s Jati Umra residence in Lahore. The former prime minister is, however, in London at present to tend to his ailing wife.

The petition has been filed by Awami Tehreek’s Niaz Inquilabi, who has stated that Nawaz was disqualified from parliament by the Supreme Court and thus a political party cannot be named after a disqualified person. The ECP has been pleaded in the petition to take appropriate action in this regard in light of the Supreme Court’s July 28 judgment in the Panama Papers case.

Following Nawaz’s disqualification as prime minister in July 2017 in the Panama Papers case, the ruling party managed to amend the constitution to allow the former prime minister to retain his chairmanship of the PML-N. The Elections Act, 2017, was passed by parliament late last year bringing Nawaz back as the party president despite his disqualification from the National Assembly.

The act was challenged in the Supreme Court by several opposition parties. In February this year, the Supreme Court announced its verdict on the petitions challenging the Elections Act, 2017, ruling that a person disqualified under Articles 62 and 63 of the constitution cannot serve as the head of a political party. The decision led to Nawaz’s removal as the PML-N president.

Published in Daily Times, June 30^th 2018.