The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has filed an intra-court appeal against the single-bench verdict that limited the disqualification period of lawmakers to 5 years, urging the court to suspend the verdict. The plea has been scheduled for hearing by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiani and Justice Saman Rifat.
The Elections Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which was approved by the then acting President Sadiq Sanjrani, aimed at reducing the period of disqualification of lawmakers to five years. This bill was advised by former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and became an Act of Parliament after receiving assent from the acting president.
The immediate beneficiaries of this bill were former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) leader Jahangir Tareen, both of whom were disqualified for life under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution by the Supreme Court in June and December 2017, respectively.