The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) has intended to petition the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision to disqualify party head Nawaz Sharif from public office and his role as party president.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah confirmed this while talking to the media on Monday.
Nawaz Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court in 2017 due to his involvement in the Panama Papers case, where he concealed his unpaid salary from his son. The decision banned him for life from holding any public position. A year later, the court further decreed that anyone disqualified under Articles 62 and 63 is ineligible to lead a political party.
Interior Minister Sanaullah stated that PML-N would request the Chief Justices of Pakistan, Umar Ata Bandial, to abstain from the bench hearing the review plea, citing perceived bias against the ruling party. He added that Nawaz’s return depended on his health and the outcome of elections scheduled for October.
President Arif Alvi recently assented to the Supreme Court Review of Judgements and Orders Bill, 2023, allowing a larger bench to review suo motu judgments. However, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar expressed that the new law wouldn’t benefit Nawaz or PTI’s estranged leader Jahangir Khan Tareen, as they’ve both already sought review against their sentences.
The new law expands the scope of review petitions to cover fact and law, with larger benches hearing the reviews. However, Nawaz and Tareen may not benefit as they have already exhausted their review rights. Nevertheless, suppose a review is filed in the Supreme Court’s “Samiullah Baloch vs. Abdul Karim Nousherwani” case, and the original decision is overturned. In that case, the situation may change for Nawaz and Tareen.
 is set to petition the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision on disqualifying Nawaz Sharif from public office. Despite the recent Supreme Court Review of Judgements and Orders Bill, 2023, it's uncertain if Sharif will benefit due to previous legal reviews.){kind=link}