Islamabad: Pakistan`s Supreme Court on Friday disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from office after a damning corruption probe into his family wealth, cutting short his third stint in power.
The Supreme Court dismissed Sharif after an investigative panel alleged his family could not account for its vast wealth. Domestic media reported a criminal investigation would also be launched against the premier and his family.
"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.
There was a heavy police and Army presence around the court in during the ruling.
What is Panama Papers case?
- In 2016, a controversy erupted with the publication of 11.5 million secret documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca documenting the offshore dealings of many of the world`s rich and powerful.
- Three of Sharif`s four children -- Maryam, his presumptive political heir, and his sons Hasan and Hussein -- were implicated in the papers.
- At the heart of the case is the legitimacy of the funds used by the Sharif family to purchase several high-end London properties via offshore companies.
- The PML-N insists the wealth was acquired legally, through Sharif family businesses in Pakistan and the Gulf.
- The push against Sharif has been spearheaded by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party, who said Sharif has lost "moral authority".
- In April, the SC had declared that there was "insufficient evidence" to oust Sharif over the corruption allegations engulfing his family, and ordered a probe into the matter.
- The team of civilian and military investigators found there was a "significant disparity" between the Sharif family`s income and lifestyle in its report, which was released to the public and submitted to the court earlier this month.
- The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) accused Sharif's children, including heir apparent Maryam, of signing forged documents to obscure ownership of the London flats. They all deny wrongdoing.
- Sharif has alleged a conspiracy against him, although he has not named anyone. His allies, however, have privately spoken of elements in the judiciary and the military, with whom Sharif has strained relations, acting against him. The Army denies any involvement.
(With Agency inputs)
