68. (1) A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either House of the Federal Parliament-

(a) if he holds any office of profit under the Federation or any unit other than an office declared by Act of the Federal Parliament no! to disqualify its holder;

(b) if he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court;

(c) if he is an undischarged insolvent;

(d) if, whether before or after the commencement of this Constitution, he has been convicted, or has, the proceedings for questioning the validity or regularity of an election, been found to have been guilty, of any offence or corrupt or illegal practice relating to elections which has been specified in the Fourth Schedule to this Constitution or has been declared by Act of the Federal Parliament to be an offence or practice entailing disqualification for membership of the Federal Parliament, unless the period specified in that behalf in that Schedule or by or under the provisions of that Act has elapsed;

(e) if, whether before or after the commencement of this Constitution, he has been convicted of any other offence and sentenced to transportation or to imprisonment for not less than two years, unless a period of five years, or such shorter period as the President may allow in any particular case, ha; elapsed since his release;

(f) if, having been nominated as a candidate for the Federal Parliament or any Provincial Legislature or having acted as an election agent of any person so nominated, he has failed to lodge a return of election expenses within the time and in the manner required by or under the provisions of the Fourth Schedule to this Constitution or any law for the time being in force unless five years have elapsed from the date by which the return ought to have been lodged or the President has removed the disqualification:

Provided that a disqualification under clause (f) of this sub-section shall not take effect until the expiration of two months from the date by which the return ought to have been lodged or of such longer period as the President may in any particular case allow.

(2) A person shall not be capable of being chosen a member of either House of the Federal Parliament while he is serving a sentence of transportation or of imprisonment for a criminal offence.

(3) When a person who, by virtue of a conviction or a conviction and a sentence becomes disqualified by virtue of clause (d) or clause (e) of sub-section (1) of this section is at the date of the disqualification a member of the Federal Parliament, his seat shall, notwithstanding anything in this or the last preceding section, not become vacant by reason of the disqualification until three months have elapsed from the date thereof or, if within those three months an appeal or petition for revision is brought in respect of the conviction or the sentence, until that appeal or petition is disposed of, but during any period during which his membership is preserved by this sub-section, he shall not sit or vote.

(4) For the purposes of this section a person shall not be deemed to hold an office of profit under the Federation or any unit by reason only that he is a Minister either for the Federation or for a Province.