WOULD’NT BE SURPRISING IF THE ARMY WANTED SHARIF OUT.

The Supreme Court didn’t find Sharif guilty of corruption per se, but instead declared that he’d violated Articles 62 and 63 of Pakistan’s Constitution, which demand that members of parliament be “sadiq” and “ameen” — “truthful” and “righteous.” These were made into requirements by one of Pakistan’s many past military dictators, presumably as a way of controlling legislators. The conditions are usually used as a way to humiliate and harass candidates; this is the first time they’ve been used to disqualify a member of parliament retrospectively. It doesn’t take a genius to see Sharif is being singled out using a particularly dangerous and illiberal constitutional clause.

Of course, Sharif ’s no saint. He welcomed the judicial dismissal of his predecessor, and a court-appointed “joint investigation team” amassed a 275-page report on his family’s affairs that makes for quite fascinating reading. But it’s worth noting Nawaz Sharif