ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Assembly passed a bill on Sunday that limited the disqualification of lawmakers for a period of up to five years, a move that could potentially pave the way for former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to return to electoral politics.

Sharif, a former three-time prime minister, was disqualified on July 28, 2017, by Pakistan’s apex court. The landmark ruling came after months of hearings in a case instigated by the “Panama Papers” leaks, related to alleged corruption during Sharif’s previous two terms in office.

Following the verdict, Sharif was disqualified from contesting elections or holding public office for life. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led by Sharif rejected the verdict, describing the corruption cases against him as “politically motivated.”

Titled ‘Elections (Amendment) Bill 2023,’ the bill was presented in the National Assembly by Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for voting.

Relating to the time period of disqualification of lawmakers, the bill contained an amendment to Section 232 (Disqualification on account of offenses) of the Election Act, 2017.

A copy of the bill reads that the disqualification of a person “to be elected, chosen or to remain as a member of the Parliament or provincial assembly under paragraph (f) of clause (1) of Article 62 of the Constitution shall be for a period not exceeding five years from the declaration of the court of law in that regard and such declaration shall be subject to the due process of law.”

The same bill was approved by the upper house of parliament or Senate on June 16.

Another amendment to the bill empowered Pakistan’s election regulator to announce election dates unilaterally and without the president’s assent.

The development takes place as former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is in Dubai with his daughter, PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz, to hold an important meeting to discuss Pakistan’s political situation.

PML-N leaders have said Sharif would return to lead the party before general elections in October, which has lost a string of by-elections over the past year to former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

Convicted in 2018 on corruption charges, Sharif was sentenced to seven years in jail. In 2019, however, a Pakistani court granted medical bail to the former prime minister for treatment in London after his health deteriorated in prison.

Sharif has not returned to Pakistan since then, where he is facing non-bailable arrest warrants and has been declared an absconder by the court. This bill improves his chances of returning to the country.