“IHC reinstates a ten-year disqualification period for NAB convicts”

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has reinstated the ten-year disqualification period for individuals convicted in cases pursued by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

A division bench of the high court temporarily halted a prior ruling made by a single bench, which had reduced the disqualification period for NAB case convicts from ten years to five.

Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Saman Riffat Imtiaz issued the restraining order during a hearing on a NAB application challenging the eligibility of Faiq Jamali, a PML-N candidate convicted in a bureau reference. Jamali had been seeking a provincial assembly seat in Balochistan.

The NAB prosecutor stated that the disqualification period for a convicted individual commenced after their release from prison, emphasizing that Faiq Jamali’s sentence included a ten-year disqualification.

Even the Supreme Court upheld Jamali’s sentence, as highlighted by NAB Prosecutor Rafi Maqsood.

Justice Kayani expressed that the punishment wasn’t contentious.

Consequently, the court suspended the single bench’s decision regarding the disqualification period for NAB convict Faiq Jamali.

Additionally, the Islamabad High Court issued a notice to the Attorney General for Pakistan.

Justice Kayani noted that disqualification under Article 1(h) applied solely to the parliament and not to the provincial assembly.

In response, the NAB prosecutor clarified that the disqualification under Article 63(1)(h) didn’t extend to the provincial assembly.