By NNN-PTI,
Islamabad : Pakistan government on Saturday asked the Supreme Court to suspend a judgement barring opposition PML-N leaders Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif from contesting polls and holding public offices till its petition against the verdict is decided.
Deputy Attorney General Agha Tariq Mehmood filed an application on Saturday morning asking the apex court to suspend its verdict of February 25 that disqualified the Sharif brothers from electoral politics.
If the apex court suspended its judgement, the Election Commission could allow Shahbaz to become Chief Minister of Punjab province again, Mehmood told reporters.
The government had on Thursday filed four petitions seeking review of the verdict and sought an early hearing of the matter.
After the apex court delivered the judgement last month, President Asif Ali Zardari imposed Governor’s rule in Punjab, where PML-N was in power.
Mehmood said the application seeking suspension of the earlier verdict till the review petitions are decided was filed on the directions of Attorney General Latif Khosa.
After the apex court’s verdict, former premier Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz had backed a countrywide protest by lawyers to pressurise the ruling PPP to reinstate judges deposed during the 2007 emergency. The PPP-led government then gave in to pressure created by the protest and announced restoration of the judges.