IHC restores 10-year disqualification for convicts charged under accountability laws

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday restored 10-year disqualification for convicts charged under the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) and suspended its earlier ruling limiting the same to five years.

The decision was taken by an IHC division bench comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani and Justice Saman Rifat Imtiaz on an appeal filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against the disqualification of former Balochistan minister Mir Faiq Ali Jamali.

The accountability watchdog had on July 25 challenged the IHC single-bench order limiting the disqualification to five years, since the Natio­nal Accountability Ordinance (NAO) provi­des for 10-year disqualification for a convict.

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An accountability court had sentenced Jamali to a 14-year imprisonment with a fine of Rs6 million over corruption charges. He was released from prison after completing his jail term in October 2013.

In July 2019, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the then-chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa and comprising Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, barred Jamali from contesting elections till 2026.

The case was filed by the former minister to seek clearance to contest the elections.

Last year, Jamali, among other Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) leaders had joined the PPP. However, two months ago, he joined the PML-N along with other electables.