Yet another Pakistani PM ousted, leaving country in turmoil

In front of a packed courtroom Friday, Pakistan’s Supreme Court deemed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif unfit for office in a historic ruling that said he’s “no more eligible to be an honest member of the parliament. Sharif, implicated in a corruption scandal sparked by the publication of the Panama Papers, resigned soon after the ruling, but he and his children are now facing a criminal investigation into corruption allegations.

The five-judge court announced the verdict in the Islamabad court, ruling that Sharif should be removed from office for lying about his assets during a probe into alleged corruption during his previous two terms in office. The verdict is a huge coup for the opposition leader Imran Khan, who has been seeking Sharif’s removal since the beginning of the scandal, but it once again casts Pakistan into political turmoil following a period of relatively stability.

The prime minister’s office issued a statement saying Sharif would resign but that he had “strong reservations” about the verdict would look at “all legal and constitutional options” available to him.

https://twitter.com/MaryamNSharif/status/890867636296441857

In April 2016 the Panama Papers revealed that Sharif’s three children — Maryam, Hassan, and Hussain — owned offshore companies that were used to funnel money into foreign assets, including high-end property in London. Sharif failed to reveal these holdings in his family’s wealth statement, leading to allegations that the offshore companies were being used to hide ill-gotten wealth or avoid taxes.

Sharif’s removal means he becomes Pakistan’s 18th prime minister to fail to complete the full five-year term of office.

The Supreme Court hearings, which have lasted 15 months, have stirred plenty of their own controversy. In April, the court took the unusual step of launching its own investigation into the corruption allegations against Sharif.

The country’s powerful military — which has ruled the country for roughly half of its 69-year history — played a dominant role in the investigation, seen by some as yet another sign of the Supreme Court’s gradual ceding of control over civilian affairs to the military, simply to ensure the judiciary’s survival.