The country’s apex court deserves a lot of accolades for injecting the required clarity into the election scene which had been unfortunately characterized by suspicion, misgiving, doubt and uncertainty, to say the least, by ending lifetime disqualification for lawmakers under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution in a six-majority vote; it has overruled its 2018 judgment in the Samiullah Baloch case, when it had ruled that disqualification handed down under Article 62(1)(f) was supposed to be “permanent” in other words, it is an almost unanimous decision.
The court has rightly ruled that lifetime disqualification interpretation exceeds article’s scope and violates the fundamental right. Yes it does. How can you disqualify someone for life?
With the announcement of this verdict, both Nawaz Sharif and Jahangir Tareen, the heads of their respective parties, stand cleared to participate in the elections. That the country’s democracy is marked by deepening political uncertainty, if not turmoil, is a fact.
The court, through its verdict, has in fact taken a major step towards ensuring for each and every candidate in the election fray a level playing field. The apex court has done its job quite efficiently, judiciously and transparently. What about our politicians and their predilection for corrupt and other unlawful practices?
In my view, they will be required to act honestly, responsibly and prudently. The occasion also provides an opportunity to the architects of the 18th Constitutional Amendment to mull over the widely-held perception that the ‘wholesale’ revamp of the constitution a decade ago is a solution that has actually created more problems.
Abu Adnan (Karachi)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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