Islamabad, Wednesday 25 February 2009: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday disqualified former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who heads the country’s largest opposition party, and his brother Shahbaz Sharif from contesting elections, a move likely to raise political tensions in the country.

“All appeals have been dismissed by the Supreme Court,” senior lawyer Akram Sheikh told reporters outside the court.

A court in Lahore ruled last June that Nawaz Sharif, ousted by former president Pervez Musharraf in a 1999 coup, was ineligible to stand in a by-election because of previous criminal convictions.

The current Pakistani government appealed the decision, after Sharif played a key role in beating Musharraf’s allies in elections in February 2008.

Wednesday’s court order will force Shahbaz Sharif, who is chief minister of Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, to step down from the post and resign from the provincial parliament.

The Supreme Court also declared Shahbaz Sharif’s election “null and void”.

Nawaz Sharif heads the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and does not currently sit in any parliament.

Sharif’s party holds power in Punjab, and has the power to destabilize the government.
(Agency)