Supreme Court strikes down bachelor’s degree requirement for lawmakers

April 22nd, 2008 Sana · No Comments

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Monday struck down a law requiring candidates for Parliament to have bachelor’s degrees, clearing the way for the widower of former premier Benazir Bhutto to run for a seat and possibly prime minister.

The ruling was another sign of the dwindling influence of President Pervez Musharraf, who introduced the requirement in 2002, supposedly to improve the caliber of lawmakers.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar said the provision was “declared to be void” after a seven-judge panel heard arguments that it discriminated against a large portion of the Pakistani population.

Bhutto widower Asif Ali Zardari, who took over the party leadership after his wife’s December assassination, has indicated that he might run for a seat in Parliament in June. Zardari has said he has a degree, but its nature is uncertain and even his party had admitted it was not sure if Zardari would qualify under Pakistani law.

Zardari has not ruled out becoming prime minister at some point.

Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party is now leading a coalition government packed with Musharraf foes after routing loyalists of the U.S.-backed president in Feb. 18 elections. Musharraf’s popularity has plunged in the last year, especially due to anger over his alliance with the U.S. in the war on terror.

The degree requirement was challenged by Nasir Mahmood, a politician from a hardline Islamist party who plans to contest a parliament seat in a by-election, said his lawyer, Sen. Kamran Murtaza.

Attorney General Mohammed Qayyum criticized the requirement during a hearing, saying it discriminated against a majority of Pakistan’s 160 million-strong population.

“This is against democracy,” he said.

Meanwhile, Zardari and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whose Pakistan Muslim League-N, party is the second largest in the ruling coalition, met to discuss how to reinstate top independent-minded judges fired by Musharraf after he imposed emergency rule last year.

The two parties have vowed to restore the justices, including deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. The restoration of the judges could further isolate Musharraf, who took power in a military coup in 1999, ousting Sharif.

Zardari and Sharif will meet again Tuesday to continue negotiations on the judges’ restoration, said Sadique al-Farooq, a spokesman for Sharif’s party.

“These are very complicated matters. They have many repercussions. Therefore, if it takes time the nation should not be worried,” he said.