Nawaz Sharif To Appear Before Pakistan Poll Panel Over His Party's Name

Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif today faced another jolt when the election commission asked him to appear before it on July 9 on a petition which argued that his PML-N party should not have his name as he was disqualified by the Supreme Court.

The notice has been sent to Mr Sharif's Jati Umra residence in Lahore.

Mr Sharif is currently in London as his wife, Kulsoom is seriously ill and undergoing treatment for throat cancer.

The Election Commission of Pakistan's notice comes ahead of the general elections scheduled on July 25.

The petition has been filed by Awami Tehreek's Niaz Inquilabi, who has contended that Sharif was disqualified from Parliament by the Supreme Court and thus a political party cannot be named after a disqualified person.

The 68-year-old three time prime minister was disqualified by the Supreme Court in the Panamagate verdict last year and later removed from the presidency of his own party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

The Election Commission of Pakistan issued notice to PML-N Quaid (supremo) Sharif to appear before it on July 9, the report said.

Following Mr Sharif's disqualification as prime minister in July 2017 in the Panama Papers case, the ruling party had managed to amend the Constitution to allow the former premier to retain his chairmanship of the PML-N.

As a result, the Elections Act 2017 was passed by Parliament late last year bringing Mr Sharif back as the party president despite his disqualification from the National Assembly.

The act was challenged in the Supreme Court by several opposition parties.

In February this year, the Supreme Court announced its verdict on the petitions challenging the Elections Act 2017, ruling that a person disqualified under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution cannot serve as the head of a political party.

The decision led to Nawaz's removal as the PML-N president. As a result of the verdict, all decisions taken by Nawaz as PML-N president after July, 2017 were deemed null and void.