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Pakistan court lifts election ban on former PM Sharif
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Pakistan court lifts election ban on former PM Sharif
AFP - Wednesday, May 27
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - - Pakistan's supreme court Tuesday overturned a ban on former premier Nawaz Sharif from holding office, allowing the popular opposition leader to contest elections in the politically turbulent nation.
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A February 25 court decision to disqualify Sharif and his politician brother Shahbaz from holding office sparked massive protests in March, plunging the nuclear-armed country into turmoil and unnerving its Western allies.
Tuesday's decision clears the first hurdle for Sharif to try to return to power in elections due in 2013, and the court move will likely ease political tensions in Pakistan, which is also beset by a bloody Taliban uprising.
The supreme court order stated that the initial high court ruling in June 2008 banning the brothers because of criminal convictions and the February 25 ruling upholding that decision "are set aside."
"Nawaz Sharif can contest elections and Shahbaz Sharif will continue as chief minister of Punjab province," said Ashtar Ausaf, the brothers' lawyer.
Noisy supporters clapping and dancing gathered outside the Islamabad courtroom, carrying posters of Nawaz Sharif, who has become Pakistan's most popular politician as President Asif Ali Zardari's approval rating plummets.
"The previous verdict was not accepted by people. Today's verdict has been accepted by the majority of the nation," Nawaz Sharif, who leads the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) party, told a press conference.
"States and countries prosper on the basis of justice and fair play. We want the rule of law and I salute the Pakistani nation as they secured the independence of the judiciary through their own struggle."
On March 31 the supreme court suspended the ban on Shahbaz Sharif -- chief minister of the country's most important province -- but that decision had to clear a final legal hurdle Tuesday.
Zardari's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) won the elections in February last year months after the assassination of his wife, Benazir Bhutto, with the PML-N gaining the second-largest number of seats and joining a PPP-led coalition government.
But Zardari's popularity has declined as he appeared to backtrack on promises to reinstate popular chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, and in August 2008 Nawaz Sharif withdrew from the coalition in protest.
Tensions between Zardari and his nemesis Nawaz Sharif reached a crescendo earlier this year when Sharif called a "long march" on the capital Islamabad and fears grew that the protest would descend into violence and chaos.
Under Western pressure to defuse the crisis, the government appealed against the order banning the Sharif brothers from holding office and agreed to reinstate the chief justice -- a key demand of Nawaz Sharif.
The government's March 16 promise to put Chaudhry back in office saw Nawaz Sharif call off the march and raised hopes of ending the debilitating crisis.
"The verdict (Tuesday) means Sharif can contest elections and can become prime minister again," said PML-N vice-president Javed Hashmi.
Nawaz Sharif can now contest by-elections, with a handful of seats up for grabs in the coming months.
However, before he can become premier, the constitution would have to be amended to allow a person to stand for a third term.
Sharif was first elected to the office of prime minister in 1990 but was sacked three years later on corruption charges.
He was back in power again three years later, but in 1999 he was ousted in a coup by ex-military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who brought criminal charges against him for hijacking, terrorism and attempted murder.
Convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, Sharif retreated into exile in December 2000, returning to Pakistan in November 2007 with Musharraf's agreement.
"The verdict will have a positive impact on the country's politics," analyst Shafqat Mahmood said of Tuesday's court ruling. "Both Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif are very popular leaders," he added.
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Pakistan's supreme court on Tuesday lifted a ban on opposition leader and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, seen here in March, holding office and contesting elections, his lawyer said.
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