Pak SC removes Sharif as PM over Panama Papers
THIRD TERMINATED TERM Brother Shehbaz likely to step in
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court disqualified Nawaz Sharif as prime minister on Friday over undeclared assets and ordered the filing of criminal charges against him and his family, plunging the country into turmoil ahead of polls due next year.
Sharif, 67, resigned soon after the five-judge bench said in a unanimous decision he was disqualified as a member of the National Assembly or lower house of Parliament for not remaining “truthful and honest”.
Pakistani news channels reported Sharif had recommended to leaders of his PML-N party during a meeting that his younger brother, Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif, should be made the prime minister. Another party leader is expected to serve as interim premier till Shehbaz is elected to Parliament.
No name has been announced for the interim prime minister though Shehbaz is expected to contest from Sharif’s parliamentary seat in Lahore.
The Supreme Court also directed the National Accountability Bureau, Pakistan’s anticorruption watchdog, to file a case in six weeks against Sharif, his daughter and heir apparent Mary am Nawaz and her husband M uh am mad Safda rand his sons Hussain and Hassan over the family’s offshore assets. The trial of the case should be wrapped up in six months, it ordered.
The court also ordered an investigation into the assets of finance minister Ishaq Dar, a relative of Sharif and one of his closest allies who had earlier been tipped as a possible candidate for the post of premier.
Minister of state Marriyum Aurangzeb said the court’s ver- dict was “not surprising” but the ruling PML-N party was disappointed. A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s house said Sharif had stepped down despite having “serious reservations” about the judicial process. The statement also spoke of contesting the verdict and said Sharif would emerge victorious in the people’s court.
Sharif, who has denied any wrongdoing, went into a huddle with PML-N leaders to choose a candidate as interim premier.
Another elected Prime Minister sent home, but only to see him return with greater force and support and soonest... MARYAM NAWAZ , Nawaz Sharif’s daughter, on Twitter