Pakistan Supreme Court disqualifies PM Nawaz Sharif in unanimous verdict

Shehbaz Sharif to be next Prime Minister of Pakistan. He is the brother of Nawaz Sharif and CM of Punjab Province

Finally law has caught up with the powerful, I salute the judiciary, they are our heroes

Nawaz formally steps down after SC verdict

#NawazSharif steps down as Prime Minister of Pakistan after Supreme Court's verdict on Panama Papers: Pakistan Media (File Pic) pic.twitter.com/xfeQ7ypEqd

— ANI (@ANI_news) July 28, 2017

The ruling PML-N party currently has no clear successor in place. Sharif's daughter Maryam is his presumptive political heir but does not hold public office, while his brother Shahbaz Sharif, the current chief minister of Punjab province, holds only a provincial seat.

Sharif's ruling PML-N party, which has a majority in the parliament, is now expected to appoint a new prime minister.

Sharif's two previous stints in power were also cut short, including by a military coup in 1999, but he came back from exile to win a resounding victory in the 2013 general elections.

Pakistan finance minister Ishaq Dar also disqualified by Supreme Court in Panamagate.

The bench comprises Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, and Justice Ijazul Ahsan.

The verdict was announced by the original five-member bench that heard the landmark case from January this year.

The judges ruled that the prime minister had been dishonest to Parliament and the courts and could not be deemed fit for his office.

Scenes outside Supreme Court of Pakistan

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en"> Panama case verdict: Scenes outside Supreme Court of Pakistan after Nawaz Sharif&#39;s disqualification as PM. <a href="https://t.co/HLgcBkIF8a">pic.twitter.com/HLgcBkIF8a</a></p> amp;&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/890835761624268801">July 28, 2017</a></blockquote>

"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 in court.

Supreme Court orders National Accountability Bureau to file case against Sharif and his children in six weeks.

Supreme Court sends Panamagate case against Prime Minister NawazSharif to anti-corruption court for trial.

Pakistan SC orders criminal case to be filed against Nawaz Sharif.

Supreme Court has disqualified Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif

Police deployment outside Supreme Court

Around 3,000 police and paramilitary forces are deployed around the Supreme Court in Islamabad ahead of the ruling.

The SC verdict is keenly awaited as both of Sharif's first two stints have ended in the third year of his tenure.

Meanwhile, interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday said that he would resign and quit politics after the Supreme Court judgment on the Panamagate case.

Nawaz Sharif leads Pakistan's most powerful political family and the ruling PML-N party.

Sharif, who has been the prime minister of Pakistan for a record three time, faces the risk of being disqualified if the court finds him guilty of corruption and money laundering.

What is Panamagate

The scandal is about alleged money laundering by Sharif in 1990s, when he twice served as prime minister, to purchase assets in London. The assets surfaced when Panama Papers leak last year revealed that they were managed through offshore companies owned by Sharif's children.


The assets include four expensive flats in London.