The Prime Minister who never completed tenure

Islamabad, July 28: Nawaz Sharif, known as the ‘Lion of Punjab’, became the Prime Minister in the politically unstable Pakistan for a record three times, but everytime he was forced to quit in the middle of his term — first by the presidency, then the military and now the judiciary. Mr Sharif, who leads the country’s most powerful political family and the ruling PML-N party, successfully managed to swim through all the “tsunamis” since he assumed power for the third term in June 2013, but a Supreme Court ruling against him in the Panamagate case struck a heavy blow to his career.

The court verdict disqualifying Sharif plunges Pakistan into a political crisis at a time when country is facing brittle economy and surge in militancy.

The 67-year-old wily political leader, seen by many as someone who can fix the country’s problems such as economy and the terrorism, found himself besieged by problems after Panama papers showed illegal money laundering by him in 1990s when he twice served as Prime Minister to purchase assets in London.

International Consortium of Investigative Journalists disclosed that Sharif’s children — Mariam, Hassan and Hussain — were the beneficial owners of offshore companies set up in the British Virgin Islands, a known tax haven.

The revelation forced Sharif to address the nation twice and disclose a detailed account of his family’s businesses in the National Assembly, explaining how his late father had built the business empire, which was the source of income used to buy properties in London and other holdings.