PML nominees to run in Senate election independently

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

The Election Commission of Pakistan on Thursday announced that all the ruling party nominees for the upcoming Senate election would be running as independent candidates after a verdict from the country's top court made former premier Nawaz Sharif ineligible to lead his party the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) on Wednesday.

In a statement, the election authorities announced that the PML-N candidates could not run for the Senate Election on party tickets after the Supreme Court verdict against Sharif that rendered all his decisions as party president null and void.

The Senate election in Pakistan is scheduled for March 3.

On Wednesday, a three-member bench of the apex court led by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar ruled that any person disqualified for the parliament could not serve as the party president, either.

"Our party is considering names for the party's presidency, and a decision will be taken by the PML-N Central Executive committee very soon," Raja Zafrul Haq, a senior PML-N leader told reporters in Islamabad.

Sharif, 67, was disqualified by the Supreme Court to act not only as prime minister but also as president of his party in the whistleblower Panama Papers scandal in July 2017. He was, however, re-elected as the president of his Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz group) in line with an election reforms bill adopted by the parliament last October.

The court ruled in July that Sharif had acted in an untrustworthy manner by failing to declare a salary from his son’s Dubai-based company ahead of the 2013 election.

The court had also ordered the opening of corruption cases against Sharif and his family members over revelations in regard to the Panama Papers scandal.

The former premier, who has held the premiership three times but never completed a full term, maintains his innocence and has rejected all accusations of financial irregularities against him.

He has repeatedly said that all transactions made by his family members were fair and in compliance with the country’s laws.