Nawaz Sharif's disqualification is for life, rules Pakistan Supreme Court

In a landmark verdict, the Pakistan Supreme Court on Friday ruled lifetime disqualification of the ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Pronouncing the historic verdict that may have a large bearing on the Islamic country's politics, the apex court said that Nawaz's disqualification under Article 62 (1) (f) of the Constitution was for lifetime.

The verdict was issued unanimously by all five judges of the bench while hearing a case related to the determination of time duration for disqualification of a lawmaker under the Constitution, the Dawn reported.

On July 28, 2017, Pakistan Supreme Court had disqualified Nawaz Sharif after he was found guilty in the Panama Papers case.

The court had grappled with Article 62(1)(f) which only stated that a lawmaker is disqualified under specified conditions but did not set out the duration of the disqualification.

Article 62, which sets the precondition for a member of parliament to be "sadiq and ameen" (honest and righteous), is the same provision under which Sharif, 68, was disqualified.

(With inputs from agencies)