AMN / ISLAMABAD
PAKISTAN Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has resigned from his post following the verdict of the Supreme Court. Earlier today Pakistan Supreme Court disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from holding public office. In a landmark judgment, a five Judge bench unanimously ruled to register a case against Sharif and ordered sending a reference against him and his family to an accountability court.
Quoting PML-N spokesman, Pakistan’s Geo News said Nawaz Sharif is chairing a meeting to decide on the appointment of a new premier. It said Sharif is likely to make the decision to appoint a new prime minister after consulting with legal experts. Earlier, legal aides, advisers and federal ministers were present at the PM House where Sharif heard the verdict of the Panama Papers case. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Governors of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were also present in the meeting.
The SC judges ruled that the Prime Minister had been dishonest to parliament and the courts, and could not be deemed fit for his office. The court also ordered the National Accountability Bureau to file the reference in an accountability court in six weeks and for the case to be wrapped up within six months.
The reference will also be filed against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Captain (Retd.) Muhammad Safdar, Shairf’s son-in-law. The Election Commission of Pakistan was also ordered to issue the notification declaring the prime minister’s disqualification. This is the third time the prime minister has been unable to complete his term in the chief executive’s office.
Speaking to media, Attorney General, Ashtar Ausaf Ali said the prime minister has been disqualified for life and he will not be able to contest elections again.
The scandal surfaced when the Panama Papers leaks last year revealed that Sharif’s sons, Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz and his daughter Maryam owned offshore companies which managed their family’s properties.
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