Islamabad: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has stepped down from his post following the verdict of the Supreme Court to disqualify Prime Minister.
In a historic and unanimous decision, Pakistan’s top court disqualified Sharif for life over failure to disclose the money trail, forgery of documents and misuse of power.
The Supreme Court asked PM Nawaz Sharif to immediately vacate the Prime Minister’s office since he had been dishonest to parliament and the courts and was not deemed fit for his office.
“He is no more eligible to be an honest member of the parliament, and he ceases to be holding the office of prime minister,” judge Ejaz Afzal Khan said.
The five-member larger bench of the apex court was headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa and included Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Gulzar Ahmad, Justice Shaikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijazul Ahsen.
Slogans of ‘Go Nawaz Go’ were raised by the opposition party members outside the court after the much-awaited Panama case verdict was announced yesterday. The decision means the ruling political party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, must nominate an interim prime minister.
In its judgement, the Supreme Court has also asked National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to take up references within six weeks against PM Nawaz Sharif, his two sons Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and his son-in-law Captain Safdar. The court also disqualified Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Sharif’s closest aide, from office.
At the same time, the Supreme Court has also decided to monitor the investigation to be conducted by NAB. The charges against the Nawaz family stemmed from the Panama Papers leak last year which revealed that the Sharif’s family owned expensive residential property in London through a string of offshore companies.
This is the third time the prime minister has been unable to complete his term in the chief executive’s office.
Nawaz Sharif was hoping to break a record of being the longest-serving Prime Minister of Pakistan. During three tenures Nawaz Sharif served 1,513 days as PM while Pakistan’s first Prime Liaquat Ali Khan served for 1,524 days.
Article 62
Nawaz Sharif was disqualified from public office for not being ‘honest’ under the terms of Article 62(1)(f) of Pakistan’s constitution, which states that parliamentarians must be “sagacious, righteous, non-profligate, honest, and ameen, there being no declaration to the contrary by a court of law”.
The court verdict marks a major political victory for opposition leader Imran Khan, a former cricket star who last year threatened mass street protests unless Sharif’s wealth was investigated. Khan had pounced on the leaking of the Panama Papers, which revealed Sharif’s family had bought posh London apartments through offshore companies.
“Today, the people of Pakistan got real justice, a new chapter has begun,” Jehangir Khan Tareen, a member of Khan’s opposition PTI party, said outside the court.
Khan himself is also under Supreme Court investigation on allegations he failed to declare sources of income, a charge he denies.
In a surprise move, the court also dismissed Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, one of Sharif’s closest allies, who has been credited with steering the economy to its fastest pace of growth in a decade.
Sharif has alleged a conspiracy against him, although he has not named anyone. His allies, however, have privately spoken of elements in the judiciary and the military, with whom Sharif has strained relations, acting against him. The army denies any involvement.
“This is not accountability, it is revenge,” tweeted Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq hours before the verdict. “In an effort dislodge us, the democratic system has been made a target.”
