Pakistan’s prime minister removed from power over alleged ‘corrupt’ financial dealings
PAKISTAN’S prime minister faces a criminal trial after the country’s supreme court removed him from power over a string of corruption allegations.
Nawaz Sharif officially resigned from the post but was “disqualified from holding office” unanimously by a fivejudge panel as a result of an investigation into his family wealth and assets, cutting short his third tenure in power. Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, the National Assem- bly speaker, will assume the mantle of the interim prime minister, according to local reports.
The supreme court dismissed Mr Sharif after the judicial panel said his family could not account for its finances and purchases of opulent homes in London. The court also ordered a criminal investigation against Mr Sharif and his family.
“Having furnished a false declaration under solvent information, Nawaz Sharif is not honest,” Judge Ejaz Afzal Khan said in court. “He is no more eligible to be an honest member of the parliament and he ceases to be holding the office of prime minister.”
Mr Sharif, 67, has always denied any wrongdoing and rejected the claims as “trash”, with his ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) Party calling the investigation politically motivated. He and his allies have alleged there was a conspiracy to unseat him.
His two previous stints in power were also cut short, including by a military coup in 1999, but he came back from exile to win the 2013 elections.
The ruling PML-N party, which has a majority in the parliament, is now expected to appoint a new prime minister, but there is no clear front-runner.
Mr Sharif ’s daughter, Maryam, was his presumptive political heir but she was also named in the supreme court judgment as having to face corruption charges. Imran Khan, the former World Cup-winning cricketer, who is opposition leader, said: “Pakistan has won today. Historically, there have always been two kinds of laws in the country, one for the weak and poor and the other for the rich and powerful.”
The corruption claims stem from the release last year of 11.5million secret documents from Mossack Fonseca, the Panamanian law firm, detailing offshore dealings and tax avoidance schemes by some of the planet’s wealthiest and most powerful people.