Pakistan’s prime minister leaves office
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s beleaguered Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stepped down Friday after the Supreme Court ordered him removed from office over allegations of corruption, plunging the nucleararmed nation into a political crisis.
The five-judge panel acted on petitions filed by Mr. Sharif’s political opponents alleging that he and his family failed to disclose assets stemming from last year’s “Panama Papers” leaks. The court ordered that criminal charges be filed against Mr. Sharif and four relatives.
In a unanimous decision, the court said he had not been “truthful and honest,” and it also dismissed him fromthe National Assembly — the lower house of Parliament.
Mr. Sharif immediately resigned in what he called a show of respect for the judiciary, even though he said the court’s decision was unjustified.
The landmark ruling threw Pakistan, which is battling attacks by Islamic militants, into political disarray and raised questions about who will succeed Mr. Sharif — and even who is running the country at the moment.
The court asked Pakistan’s figurehead President Mamnoon Hussain to “ensure continuation of the democratic process.” He is expected to convene the National Assembly once Mr. Sharif’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League party, which enjoys a comfortable majority, nominates a successor to serve as prime minister until general elections are held in June 2018.
Mr. Sharif’s political opponents danced in the streets and opposition leader Imran Khan urged them to gather Sunday in the capital of Islamabad to celebrate their legal victory against the “corrupt ruling elite.”
Mr. Sharif’s party expressed its disappointment and urged supporters to keep calm and avoid confrontations.
“This decision is not surprising, but we are disappointed,” Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb said.
Mr. Sharif, 67, who has served three separate stints as prime minister, has a history of rocky relations with Pakistan’s military, the country’s most powerful institution. He was first dismissed from power by the army’s hand-picked president in 1993 about midway through his five-term term. In 1999, military dictator Gen. Pervez Musharraf overthrew Mr. Sharif in a bloodless coup and exiled him to Saudi Arabia.
Political analyst Mehdi Hassan said the army may not have played a direct role in Mr. Sharif’s dismissal, but representatives of the powerful ISI and Military Intelligence on the court-appointed investigation team may have contributed to the final decision.
The court ordered that criminal charges be filed against Mr. Sharif, his two sons, his son-in-law and his daughter, Maryam Nawaz. It said the charges must be brought within six weeks and decided within six months.
The case dates back to the “Panama Papers” disclosures in 2016, when documents leaked from a Panama-based law firm indicated that Mr. Sharif’s sons owned several offshore companies.
Mr. Sharif’s son, Hussain Nawaz, at the time acknowledged owning offshore companies but insisted they used legally acquired funds to set up businesses abroad.
The court-appointed investigators in July concluded, however, that a significant disparity existed between the Sharif family’s declared wealth and its known sources of income.
Hashmat Habib, a legal expert, said the court’s order was final and that Mr. Sharif and his family could not appeal.