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Court excuses Sharifs’ non-appearance

Sweet news: Supporters of the former Pakistani Premier, Nawaz Sharif, celebrating in Lahore on Tuesday. — Photo: AFP

Islamabad: In its five-page order setting aside its own earlier order and a Lahore High Court verdict disqualifying the former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, and his brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif from contesting elections, the Supreme Court said relevant facts did not come to the notice of the court as the Sharif brothers had refused to appear before it, forcing the court to make an ex parte order.

The Sharifs’ held that they would not appear before an “illegal” court as it was then still run by former President Pervez Musharraf’s handpicked judges who replaced those sacked in his November 2007 emergency.

The bench excused their non-appearance given the “exceptional and extraordinary” events leading to the removal of the Supreme Court judges in November 2007, and the “nationwide movement” that had eventually led to the restoration of those judges in March this year.

The five-judge bench also set aside a Lahore High Court verdict against Mr. Nawaz Sharif, mainly on matters of jurisdiction.

It also observed that the Lahore High Court had been “inconsistent” in its application of the law as it had allowed his brother Shahbaz to contest a by-election for the provincial Assembly.

The court appears not to have delved into the merits of the case that the convictions against Mr. Nawaz Sharif in 2000 disqualified him from standing for election, and that the pardon granted to him before he went into exile was a pardon of the sentence and not the conviction. The bench simply stated that allegations of a “conditional” or qualified pardon required a “factual inquiry”.

Tuesday’s verdict may not lead to an immediate shake-up in the political scene.

Mr. Sharif has said several times his party will do nothing to undermine the five-year term of the present government. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani called him with congratulations on the ruling.

But at a press conference at his Raiwind home in Lahore, Mr. Sharif could not resist a dig at President Asif Ali Zardari. “It’s not enough to keep repeating democracy, democracy, democracy. Democracy must deliver, and only then does it take root successfully,” he said, evidently referring to Mr. Zardari’s recent performance in the U.S., where he constantly talked about the prevailing democratic system of governance in Pakistan.

Mr. Sharif said the Supreme Court verdict was the result of the restoration of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary after the March 16 “long march”, and said “good verdicts always reflect people’s aspirations”.

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