Imran’s party seeks Sharif disqualification

PTI move linked to controversy over Panama Papers scandal, involving offshore companies

The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) yesterday submitted a petition to the Supreme Court seeking the disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The respondents nominated in the petition include the prime minister, his daughter, two sons, the National Accountability Bureau and the Federal Board of Revenue.

The PTI move is linked to controversy over disclosures in the Panama Papers scandal concerning offshore companies alleged owned by Sharif’s children. PTI counsel Naeem Bukhari told reporters that the registrar of the Supreme Court will now decide if the petition is maintainable.

The petition has been filed ahead of a planned massive antigovernment march by the PTI on September 3 in Lahore, capital of Punjab province, the power base of the ruling family.

The Lahore show will mark the climax of an ongoing antigovernment public campaign by the PTI, which has held rallies addressed by Imran Khan this month in different cities in Punjab, the latest yesterday in its so-titled ‘accountability movement’ against alleged corruption on the part of leadership.

The PTI is in power in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and is the secondlargest opposition group in the National Assembly after the Pakistan People’s Party.

Imran Khan and other opposition leaders accuse Sharif and his family members of having transferred funds from Pakistan illegally to build assets abroad, an allegation strongly denied by the prime minister.

The ruling party accuses the PTI leader of lusting for power.

Sharif has previously said people have rejected Khan’s negative politics and stand behind the government’s development-oriented agenda.