By AP

Pakistan's Supreme Court has scrapped a lifetime ban on politicians with convictions from contesting elections, paving the way for former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to run for parliament in a February 8 vote. The lifetime ban on convicted politicians was imposed in 2018. Under a new court order, convicted politicians would be barred from running only for five years. Sharif's party said he will seek a fourth term after returning in October from a four-year self-exile in London to avoid serving prison sentences on corruption charges. They were overturned on appeal after his return.