Election ban on ex-PM Sharif lifted

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Supreme Court ruled yesterday that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his politician brother can contest elections, removing a cause of political uncertainty in recent months.

Two-time prime minister Sharif, who polls show is now Pakistan's most popular politician, was earlier barred from contesting polls because of an old conviction he says was politically motivated.

Their lawyer, Ashtar Ausaf, told reporters outside the Supreme Court that earlier court rulings that in effect barred the brothers from elections had been set aside.