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: JURIST - The Paper Chase

Pakistan government appeals high court decision banning ex-PM from political office

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

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[JURIST] The government of Pakistan President Ali Asif Zardari and his Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Pakistan Thursday, asking the court to review its February decision banning former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother from holding elected office. The Supreme Court based its decision on a criminal conviction against Sharif, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), for attempting to divert a plane carrying army commander and later president Pervez Musharraf in 1999 during a coup attempt. A government spokesperson said that the appeal was made in the interest of constitutionalism and the rule of law. The filing of the report was seen by many, including the PML-N, as a condition for ending the recent protests and "long march" against the Zardari government, which culminated in Monday's reinstatement of Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. Chaudhry's reinstatement was seen as a positive step for democratic rule in Pakistan. Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani announced early Monday that the government would reinstate Chaudhry in response to recent protests by members of the lawyers' movement and opposition politicians and supporters. Gilani also ordered government officials to release anyone arrested during the past week's so-called "long march". Reports first surfaced late Sunday that President Zardari had agreed to reinstate Chaudhry and other judges ousted by Zardari's predecessor Musharraf in November 2007 after his declaration of emergency rule. Sharif and the PML-N have actively campaigned for Chaudhry's reinstatement, leading a similar "long march" last summer. Chaudhry has always maintained that he is still chief justice under the Pakistani constitution.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on March 19, 2009 (boomark / email).