SC bars former Balochistam minister from contesting elections till 2026

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday barred former Balochistan minister Mir Faiq Jamali from contesting elections till 2026.

A three-member bench of  the apex court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa and comprising Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed heard the case filed by Mir Faiq Jamali against his disqualification to contest the elections.

During the course of proceedings, the counsel for Mir Faiq Jamali pleaded the court to allow his client to contest elections. His client was sentenced in NAB cases and after completing the jail term in October 2013, he was free to take part in elections, he added.

To this, the chief justice observed that the accountability court had also imposed fine of Rs 60 million, which was paid by him on November 29, 2016. According to the National Accountability Bureau's laws, individuals, who completed their jail terms, were still barred from holding any public office for the next 10 years, he added.

He ruled that the former provincial minister would be allowed to participate in the elections after November 28, 2026.

Earlier, an accountability court had sentenced Mir Faiq Jamali to 14 years imprisonment with fine of Rs60 million over corruption charges.