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Pakistani president signs into law bill limiting disqualification of lawmakers to 5 years

This undated file photo shows a general view of a parliament session at the National Assembly of Pakistan in Islamabad. (Photo courtesy: social media)
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Updated 26 June 2023
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Pakistani president signs into law bill limiting disqualification of lawmakers to 5 years

  • Law could potentially pave the way for former PM Nawaz Sharif to return to electoral politics
  • Sharif, convicted in corruption case in 2018, lives in self-imposed exile in London since 2019
Updated 26 June 2023
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani president on Monday signed into law a bill that limits the disqualification of lawmakers to a period of up to five years, a move that could potentially pave the way for former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to return to electoral politics.

Sharif, who has served as Pakistan’s prime minister thrice, was disqualified from office on July 28, 2017, by Pakistan's apex court in a case instigated by the “Panama Papers” leaks that disclosed expensive and undeclared property owned by the Sharif family in London.

Following the verdict, the court also barred Sharif from holding office for life. Sharif and his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party rejected the verdict, saying the corruption cases against him were "politically motivated."

The National Assembly had a day earlier passed the Election Act Law, limiting the disqualification of a parliamentarian to a maximum of five years. The bill, having already been passed by the Senate, needed to be approved by the president to become law.

Under the new law, disqualification of a person "to be elected, chosen or to remain as a member of the Parliament or provincial assembly under paragraph (f) of clause (1) of Article 62 of the Constitution shall be for a period not exceeding five years from the declaration of the court of law in that regard and such declaration shall be subject to the due process of law."

The development comes as PML-N leaders have said Sharif would return to Pakistan to lead the party before general elections in October. The party has lost a string of by-elections over the past year to former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.

After the Supreme Court disqualified Sharif from office in 2017, he was convicted in 2018 on corruption charges and sentenced to seven years in jail. In 2019, however, a Pakistani court granted medical bail to the former prime minister and he left for treatment in London in November that year and has since lived there in self-imposed exile.

Topics: Pakistan President Arif Alvi

Eight soldiers, civilian killed in separate attacks in Pakistan — police

Updated 29 March 2025
AFP
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Eight soldiers, civilian killed in separate attacks in Pakistan — police

  • Last year was the deadliest year in almost a decade in Pakistan, with more than 1,600 people killed in militant attacks
  • Nearly half of them were security forces personnel, according to the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies
Updated 29 March 2025
AFP

PESHAWAR: At least eight soldiers and a civilian were killed in western Pakistan on Friday in separate attacks along the border with Afghanistan, where violence has erupted in recent months, police told AFP.
Seven soldiers were killed in a security operation against “armed Taliban” in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a police source said on Saturday.
“Fighters hiding in a house fired on security forces,” the source said.
The army deployed combat helicopters during the hours-long fight, killing eight Taliban fighters, while six other soldiers were wounded, the source said.
A blast from a bomb planted by separatists on a motorbike also killed a soldier and a civilian further south in Balochistan, police officer Mohsin Ali told AFP.
The area was the scene of a spectacular attack last month when militants held hundreds of train passengers hostage and killed dozens of off-duty soldiers.
Three soldiers and a civilian were also wounded in the blast that took place as a military vehicle drove through Gwadar district, a sensitive area that hosts substantial Chinese infrastructure.
More than 190 people, mostly soldiers, have been killed in attacks since the start of the year by armed groups fighting the government in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, according to an AFP tally.
The Pakistani Taliban — known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — announced in mid-March a “spring campaign” against security forces.
Last year was the deadliest year in almost a decade in Pakistan, with more than 1,600 people killed in attacks — nearly half of them security forces personnel — according to the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies.
The violence is largely limited to Pakistan’s border regions with Afghanistan.

Topics: militancy in Pakistan KP militancy

Pakistan PM’s aide meets UN chief, stresses need to oppose proposals for expulsion of Palestinians

Updated 29 March 2025
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Pakistan PM’s aide meets UN chief, stresses need to oppose proposals for expulsion of Palestinians

  • The development comes more than a month after the US president, Israeli PM remarked about relocation of Palestinians to Egypt, Jordan or other countries
  • Their remarks were rejected by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and other Muslim nations apart from being condemned by international rights groups
Updated 29 March 2025
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Tariq Fatemi, a special assistant to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has stressed the need to oppose any proposals for the expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland, Pakistan’s mission at the United Nations (UN) said on Saturday, following Fatemi’s meeting with Secretary-General António Guterres.
During his meeting, Fatemi briefed the UN secretary-general about Pakistan’s priorities during its term as a non-permanent member of the Security Council that began last month, according to the Pakistani mission.
He reaffirmed Islamabad’s strong support for the UN’s central role in addressing global challenges, including those related to peace and security, development and climate change.
“SAPM [special assistant to the prime minister] said that the world community should call upon Israel to end its brutal campaign of violence and terror against the hapless Palestinians,” the Pakistani mission said in a statement.
“[He] stressed the need for strongly opposing proposals for the expulsion of the Palestinians from their homeland.”
The development comes more than a month after remarks by United States (US) President Donald Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu about the relocation of Palestinians to Egypt, Jordan or other countries, which were rejected by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and other nations apart from being condemned by international rights groups.
Palestinian territory – encompassing the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem – has been occupied by Israel since 1967. Pakistan does not recognize Israel and has consistently called for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters.”
During the meeting, Fatemi also underscored Pakistan’s longstanding commitment to adherence to the principles of the UN Charter, including UN peacekeeping efforts, according to the Pakistani mission.
“Secretary-General Guterres thanked the SAPM for Pakistan’s active engagement at the United Nations and its role in maintaining international peace and security through its contribution toward UN Peacekeeping,” the Pakistani mission added.

Topics: Tariq Fatemi U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

Pakistan offers assistance to Myanmar, Thailand as quake death toll passes 1,000

Updated 29 March 2025
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Pakistan offers assistance to Myanmar, Thailand as quake death toll passes 1,000

  • The earthquake quake flattened buildings, downed bridges, and cracked roads across swathes of Myanmar, demolished a 30-story skyscraper in Bangkok
  • Aid agencies say Myanmar is totally unprepared to deal with a disaster of this magnitude, where a civil war has already displaced some 3.5 million people
Updated 29 March 2025
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday offered Pakistan’s assistance to Myanmar and Thailand following a deadly earthquake that has claimed more than 1,000 lives, with many still feared to be trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings.
The shallow 7.7-magnitude tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar on Friday afternoon and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock.
It flattened buildings, downed bridges, and cracked roads across swathes of Myanmar, and even demolished a 30-story skyscraper under construction hundreds of kilometers away in Bangkok.
Sharif said he was saddened by the devastating earthquake and his thoughts and prayers were with the people of the two Southeast Asian nations in this difficult time.
“Pakistan stands in solidarity with Thailand and Myanmar, offers our support and wishes them strength, safety, and a swift recovery from this catastrophe,” he said on X.
At least 1,002 people were killed and nearly 2,400 injured in Myanmar, the ruling junta said in a statement. Around 10 more deaths have been confirmed in Bangkok.
But with communications badly disrupted, the true scale of the disaster is only starting to emerge from the isolated military-ruled state, and the toll is expected to rise significantly.
It was the biggest quake to hit Myanmar in decades and junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, issued an exceptionally rare appeal for international aid on Friday, indicating the severity of the calamity.
Offers of foreign assistance began coming in, with President Donald Trump on Friday pledging US help.
“It’s a real bad one, and we will be helping. We’ve already spoken with the country,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
An initial flight from India carrying hygiene kits, blankets, food parcels and other essentials landed in the commercial capital Yangon on Saturday.
China said it sent an 82-person team of rescuers to Myanmar.
Aid agencies have warned that Myanmar is totally unprepared to deal with a disaster of this magnitude. Some 3.5 million people were displaced by the raging civil war, many at risk of hunger, even before the quake struck.

Topics: Earthquake in Myanmar Myanmar Earthquake Thailand Earthquake Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif

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Pakistan slashes petrol price by Re1 for next fortnight

Updated 22 min 14 sec ago
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Pakistan slashes petrol price by Re1 for next fortnight

  • Petrol is mostly used in the South Asian country for private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers
  • The fortnightly adjustment of fuel prices ensures the net impact of changes in import costs is passed on to consumers
Updated 22 min 14 sec ago
Usama Iqbal Khawaja

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government has reduced the price of petrol by Rs1 per liter for the next fortnight, the Finance Division announced late Friday.
After the latest revision, a liter of petrol will now cost Rs254.63, while the price of high-speed diesel remains unchanged at Rs258.64, according to a Finance Division notification.
“The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has worked out the consumer prices of petroleum products based on the price variations in the international market,” the notification read.
Fuel prices in Pakistan are reviewed and adjusted fortnightly. The mechanism ensures that the net impact of changes in import costs is passed on to consumers, helping sustain the country’s fuel supply chain.
Petrol is mostly used in Pakistan for private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws, and two-wheelers. At the same time, diesel powers heavy vehicles used for transportation of good across the South Asian country.

Topics: Pakistan petrol prices petrol prices petrol prices in Pakistan

On Ramadan nights, Islamabad residents are all cued up and ready to win

Updated 29 March 2025
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On Ramadan nights, Islamabad residents are all cued up and ready to win

  • Snooker tournaments at clubs often increase during holy month, providing social and recreational outlet after breaking the fast
  • Pakistan has strong tradition in snooker, with players like Muhammad Asif achieving significant success on the international stage
Updated 29 March 2025
Shahjahan Khurram & Falak Mahmood Khan

Usman Sartaj reached for the small, cube-shaped chalk on the edge of the snooker table and rotated it over the cue tip in a smooth, circular motion. 

He then struck the cue ball hard, sending it crashing into the others, dispersing them from their triangular formation to all parts of the table. 

During Ramadan, snooker games and tournaments at cue-ball clubs often increase, providing a social and recreational outlet for people after breaking their fast. Things are no different in Islamabad where many youngsters like 25-year-old Sartaj, who runs a business of importing and exporting cars, frequent snooker clubs and play until the pre-dawn suhoor meal. 

“There is a lot of buzz in snooker clubs during Ramadan, tournaments are held and various players come from different places,” Sartaj told Arab News at the “Snooker 13” club in Islamabad’s G-13 area where he had come to play after offering the voluntary Tarawih night prayers earlier this week.

Local players stand around a snooker table at “Snooker 13” club in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 27, 2025. (AN Photo)

Why does he prefer snooker over other games?

“Snooker is a great game, it eliminates a person’s tension and stress,” Sartaj said.

Abdul Hadi, the supervisor at Snooker 13, said around 500 people visited the club daily, a number that surged to around 1,500-1,600 in Ramadan during the hours between the iftar and suhoor meals.

One reason for its popularity was affordability, Hadi said. 

“It’s around Rs150-200 [$0.54-0.71] for a normal frame,” he told Arab News. “It’s a regular rate, not too cheap and not too expensive. So everyone can afford it, even the students and people under 18 years.”

A local player plays a shot during a snooker match at “Snooker 13” club in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 27, 2025. (AN Photo)

Muhammad Shahbaz, a 27-year-old driver who works in Dubai but was in Pakistan to spend Ramadan and Eid with his family, was a fan of famed British snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan, and said he hoped to emulate his favorite athlete’s performances during Ramada games.

“We admire Ronnie’s game and love to watch and follow him,” Shahbaz said. “We try to follow his tricks and his shots.”

Pakistan has a strong tradition in snooker, with players like Muhammad Asif achieving significant success on the international stage, including multiple IBSF World Snooker Championship titles.

“There is a lot of snooker talent in Pakistan and if we want to promote it [further], the government has to support it,” Shahbaz said.

Shavez Ahmed, a 30-year-old realtor who was enjoying a game at one of the nine tables at the club, said there was no doubt snooker was one of the most popular games in Ramadan. 

“Other games are impressive too, we play cricket and badminton as well,” he said. “But the craze for snooker in Ramadan never ends.”

Topics: Ramadan 2025 Ramadan in Pakistan

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