The Supreme Court of Pakistan lifted the lifetime ban that prevented former PTI leader Faisal Vawda from running for office after he submitted an unqualified apology to the court.
A three-member apex court bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, and Justice Ayesha Malik heard the petition against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to disqualify Vawda permanently.
The election commission imposed a lifetime ban on Vawda on February 9 because he disguised his dual nationality when he ran for National Assembly in the 2018 general election.
As he had been lying to the courts for three long years, the chief justice had ordered Vawda to court today to allow him to apologize and admit his error.
As he stood before the court today, the former federal minister apologized unreservedly and said he would accept whatever punishment he handed him.
Accepting his apology, the apex court ruled that Vawda was disqualified under Article 63(1)(c) and not Article 62(1)(f) — the same law that was used to bar former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from running for office for the rest of his life.
As a result of the ruling, the former federal minister will be eligible to run in the upcoming general election. Still, he will be barred from participating in any prior elections.
In his letter of apology following the hearing, the former federal minister admitted that he was ineligible to run the elections because he had submitted a forgery.
