Dubai: Pakistan made history on Friday as for, the first time, the country’s apex court showed it muscles and disqualified the sitting prime ministerand banned him from politics for rest of his life, in what is called "a daring verdict".
The question is: Why was Nawaz Sharif (above) disqualified and asked to step down by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday?
No: It was neither because of his offshore companies mentioned in the Panama leaks which jolted Pakistan nor his children’s flats and businesses in London.
The judges said, rather, that it was because of Sharif's failure to declare his company ‘Capital FZE’ in Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai and his UAE work permit (Iqama).
What happens now?
Failing to do so, the court judgest found him not being "honest" — a prerequisite for eligibility to the chief executive’s office, as enshrined in Article 62 of the Constitution.
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It is mandatory for all politicians to declare their assets and source of income to the Election Commission of Pakistan before contesting elections or holding any public office. Sharif failed to declare his company in Dubai.
According to documents, he was director of the company and also withdrew salary of Dh10,000 per month (as shown on the job contract) from August 7, 2006 to April 20, 2014 till nearly a year after he took over as prime minister.
‘Being dishonest’ was the sole reason for his disqualification as prime minister of the country, accordng to the court verdict obtained by Gulf News. He did not declare these assets in his nomination papers.
The court says that Sharif had been ‘dishonest’ by not declaring this receivable salary in his nomination papers for the 2013 election — an offence which can lead to disqualification of a parliamentarian.
Not the end
This is not the end of the story for Sharif and his family members.
They may face jail term if convicted in other allegations raised in the 10-volume report of the joint investigation team (JIT) tasked with probing the Sharif and his family’s financial dealing.
The court has ordered National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file references against Sharif and his family to probe the allegations of having assests beyond their meansand take action accordingly.
This is not the first time that a prime minister has been disqualified in Pakistan. In fact, none of the prime ministers in the country has ever completed his five-year term. Sharif’s governments were dissolved twice in the past while the late Benazir Bhutto was also ousted twice on charges of corruption. But this was not done by any court verdict.
Earlier, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was the only one disqualified by the Supremr Court during the last government of the Pakistan Peoples Party.
One thing is evident form the court verdict against Sharif who heads the most powerful political family in Pakistan that courts are now powerful in this country and no one is above the law.
This verdict has also sent message to all other politicians, public office holders and government officials that the corruption would not be tolerated any more.
The court should also order authorities concerned to bring back politicians, officials, diplomats and army generals who are wanted in Pakistan but living outside the country. They should also be subjectd to court trials for their wrongdoings.
However, the verdict has not thrown Sharif out of politics completely. He is and will be the most powerful man to lead his party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). He is the one who will nominate the next ‘puppet’ prime minister and he will continue to pull the strings in Pakistan politics.
Since his party holds clear majority in the parliament, his nominated candidate will easily win the vote of confidence in the National Assembly to take oath as the new prime minister.
His party will continue to rule until the next general elections scheduled to be held next year.
Sharif might have also learnt lesson from this verdict and should not continue the ‘politics of reconciliation’ which gave amnesty to corrupt politicians in the past. His ruling party should also avoid taking revenge and instead let the court take the decisions to uproot corruption.
TIMELINE
April 4, 2016: The Panama Papers show involvement of Sharif’s family in offshore companies.
April 22, 2016: Sharif asks the Supreme Court to form a commission to investigate the Panama leaks after pressure from the opposition. Cricketerturned-politician Imran Khan demands an independent probe by the high court itself.
April 24, 2016: Khan threatens protests against Sharif and says the prime minister had lost “moral authority” to rule.
May 16, 2016: Sharif proposes parliamentary commission probe into the scandal; opposition walks out.
October 28, 2016: Khan accuses government of placing him under virtual house arrest; supporters fight police ahead of plan to shut down capital in protest.
November 1, 2016: Khan backs down from a threat to paralyse capital with a “lockdown” after violence breaks out with many of his supporters injured and the Supreme Court agrees to hear arguments to form a commission to investigate Sharif.
November 2, 2016: Supreme Court agrees to set up a judicial commission to probe corruption allegations against Sharif, stemming from Panama Papers leaks.
April 20, 2017: Supreme Court rules there was insufficient evidence to order Sharif’s immediate removal but orders a Joint Investigation Team to look further into the source of his family’s wealth.
July 11, 2017: Judicial investigators rule Sharif’s family accumulated unusual wealth; allies denounce findings.
July 27, 2017: Longstanding political ally and Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan says he would quit once top court rules on corruption allegations, regardless of the verdict.
July 28, 2017: Sharif resigns after court rules him unfit to hold office and orders more criminal investigations into his family. Court says it disqualified Sharif for not declaring income from a company in United Arab Emirates, which was not in the original Panama Papers revelations.
— Reuters
