ISLAMABAD: The major political parties especially Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Saturday lauded the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s verdict which overruled lifetime disqualification, but Pakistan Tehreeek-e-Insaf (PTI) remained tight-lipped on the verdict.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif termed the verdict “historic” and said the conspiracy to disqualify Nawaz Sharif, the PML-N supremo, for life through “arbitrary interpretation of the Constitution” had died.

“There is no longer any legal obstacle in the way of Nawaz Sharif to participate in the elections,” he said, adding, “If the PML-N supremo was given another chance, he would take the country on a path of development and prosperity”. Commenting on the verdict, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said only legal experts could tell if the PML-N supremo was qualified to contest polls or not.

At the same time, he did say the decision was a “good development” for the country’s democracy and politics in the long run.

However, the PTI is yet to issue any statement on the apex court’s verdict.

When contacted, PTI central information secretary Raoof Hasan declined to comment on the verdict, and said: “tell me what the PTI should say about it [the SC verdict]”.

When asked whether the party lauds the apex court’s verdict like PPP and PML-N, a visibly confused Raoof Hasan switched off the phone without mincing a single word about the verdict.

The only leader who reacted to the SC verdict was Hammad Azhar, who in a message on X, criticised the SC’s ruling, saying “the people who are facing fake FIRs on mere allegations have been barred from contesting the February 8 general polls while the blue-eyed who were disqualified by the top court have been cleared ahead of nationwide polls.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024