Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigns after Supreme Court disqualifies him in Panama Papers case
Karachi: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday disqualified Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as a member of the National Assembly in Panama Papers leak case. He has been found guilty of corruption. Following the Supreme Court judgment, Nawaz Sharif has resigned from his post, said media reports.
In a unanimous verdict, the five-judge bench said,Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is no more Sadiq and Ameen (honest and righteous). The Supreme Court also disqualified Finance Minister Ishaq Dar from office.
According to the reports, Defence Minister Khwaja Asif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif are the new contenders for the post of Pakistan Prime Minister.
Ishaq Dar, who was Sharif’s former accountant, had submitted documents to the Supreme Court about how the Sharif family obtained their wealth that included a portfolio of upscale London properties.
The apex court further said that Nawaz Sharif didn’t submit valid asset details in 2013 general elections. The Supreme Court ordered the National Accountability Bureau to file case against Sharif and his children within six weeks.
Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, who headed the implementation bench, said that cases should be opened against Maryam Nawaz (Sharif’s daughter), Captain Muhammad Safdar (Maryam’s husband), Hassan and Hussain Nawaz (PM Sharif’s sons) as well as Prime Minister Sharif and a judgement should be announced within 30 days.
The Supreme Court dismissed Sharif after an investigative panel alleged his family could not account for its vast wealth.
“He is no more eligible to be an honest member of the parliament, and he ceases to be holding the office of prime minister,” Judge Ejaz Afzal Khan said in court.
Sharif has always denied any wrongdoing and has dismissed the investigation into him as biased and inaccurate. Sharif’s allies have alleged there was a conspiracy to unseat him.
“This is not accountability, it is revenge,” tweeted Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq hours before the verdict was announced. “In an effort dislodge us, the democratic system has been made a target.”
Sharif’s two previous stints in power were also cut short, including by a military coup in 1999, but he came back from exile to win a resounding victory in the 2013 general elections.
His ruling PML-N party, which has a majority in the parliament, is now expected to appoint a new prime minister.
