Pakistan Foreign Minister Disqualified Over UAE Work Permit Violations
In a significant political setback for the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif was disqualified by the Islamabad High Court on Thursday for violating election laws. This ruling comes as the party prepares for upcoming nationwide elections later this year.
The court found Asif guilty of failing to declare multiple work permits he held in the UAE, which constitutes a breach of Pakistan’s election regulations. The judges declared that Asif was not qualified to contest in the 2013 General Election, the last nationwide polls in the country.
This decision adds to a series of legal challenges faced by the PML-N. Earlier this year, the party’s leader, Nawaz Sharif, was ousted from his position as Prime Minister over corruption allegations and subsequently barred from politics for life. Asif, a prominent figure within the party and a close ally of Sharif, has been a vocal critic of military involvement in Pakistan’s political landscape.
