‘Unlikely to be destabilising’

Analysis Does PM Sharif’s ouster mean Pakistan ‘chaos’?

ISLAMABAD, July 29, (AFP): The ousting of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has left a power vacuum at the top of the nuclear-armed country, yet experts say that in the long run it is unlikely to be destabilising.

Sharif’s disqualification Friday by the Supreme Court over corruption allegations denies him the chance of becoming the country’s first prime minister to complete a full five-year term.

Yet despite the country’s history of military rule, power will likely remain within the hands of a civilian government — and probably that of Sharif’s eponymous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Party, analysts say.

“In a country as volatile as Pakistan, there’s good reason to be concerned whenever a prime minister is dismissed,” said Michael Kugelman of the DC-based Wilson Centre.

“But my sense is that everything will eventually fall into place — a successor will be chosen and the current government will serve out its term.”

Pakistan has been roiled by military coups and instability for much of its 70-year history.

But recently there has been a surge of optimism in the militancy-plagued developing country, which has seen a dramatic improvement in security and positive economic growth in recent years.

While the 2013 election that brought Sharif to power for a third time was also a powerful symbol of stability, representing Pakistan’s first democratic transition from one elected government to another.

Sharif was disqualified from the prime minister’s office but remains the head of the PML-N party which holds a majority in parliament, meaning the next prime minister will likely emerge from its ranks.

Sharif