Pakistan’s top court disqualified the country’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from office on Friday, with a bench of five judges unanimously ruling against him in a corruption case that has divided the South Asian nation.

The Supreme Court in Islamabad disqualified Sharif in a case connected to allegations stemming from the so-called Panama Papers — secret documents leaked from the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca in 2016 that detailed the offshore financial dealings of public figures from around the world.

“He is no more eligible to be an honest member of the parliament, and he ceases to be holding the office of prime minister,” Supreme Court Judge Ejaz Afzal said in court, according to the Reuters news agency.

Sharif — who, if he had remained in office until next year’s general elections, would have been the first prime minister in Pakistan’s history to complete a full term — found himself at the center of national controversy after the Panama Papers appeared to link his children to offshore companies used to purchase flats in an upmarket London neighborhood.

The allegations ended up in court following threats of street protests by Imran Khan , the former Pakistani cricketer turned opposition politician.

Sharif and his family deny any wrongdoing.

This was Sharif’s third stint as prime minister. The country’s top court previously stepped in to dismiss former leader Yusuf Raza Gilani in 2012, following a contempt of court case.

With the ruling, Sharif’s governing Pakistan Muslim League will be forced to choose an interim prime minister, as the nation prepares for next year’s national polls. </s> Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, will know his political fate on Thursday as the country’s Supreme Court is set to issue its ruling on corruption claims against him. Questions arose over his family’s business dealings when three of his children were linked to offshore accounts in the Panama papers leaks. Mr Sharif and his family … Continue reading Panama Papers: Pakistan PM, Nawaz Sharif Awaits Ruling

The post Panama Papers: Pakistan PM, Nawaz Sharif Awaits Ruling appeared first on Channels Television. </s> The Supreme Court of Pakistan has disqualified the country’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over corruption charges.

The decision regarding the disqualification of Sharif as Pakistan’s Premier was announced today after he was found guilty of involvement in corruption.

According to the local media reports, Sharif was found guilty of the involvement in corruption cases, specifically the millions of dollars of business being operated by his children.

The verdict was apparently issued after investigations revealed that businesses worth millions of dollars belong to the three children of Sharif, including his two sons and his daughter Maryam Sharif.

The Office of the President of Pakistan in a statement confirmed that the premier has stepped down from his post.

The statement stated that Mr. Sharif has stepped down following the verdict of the court despite he has ‘strong reservations’ on the verdict of the Supreme Court.

A spokesperson for Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) has said that the party will utilise all legal and constitutional means to contest the verdict.

The court reportedly reviewed the corruption allegations against Sharif based on the demands of political leader Imran Khan regarding the Panama Leaks documents.

Follow Khaama Press (KP) | Afghan News Agency on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook. Stay updated via RSS </s> In a jolt to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a probe into the Panama Papers scandal involving corruption allegations against the family of the beleaguered premier.



 The Supreme Court heard several identical petitions by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan and others to investigate charges of corruption against Sharif and his relatives after the Panama Papers released earlier this year showed his family owning offshore companies and assets.



 The larger five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and comprising Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, Justice Amir Hani Muslim, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijazul Ahsan conducted the hearing in presence of several cabinet ministers, lawyers of petitioners, senior PTI leaders and media.



 The apex court said it was ready to appoint a probe commission headed by a judge and armed with powers of the Supreme Court. The court also ordered the government and petitioners to present their Terms of Reference (ToR) for the probe panel.



 It court will decide to harmonise the ToR if the parties could not come up with the agreed set of ToR. Before its adjournment till Thursday, the court also expressed willingness to hold hearings on a daily basis.



 However, the court did not ban the protest by PTI tomorrow in Islamabad. But it advised the government and opposition to show restraint. Reacting to the court's ruling, PTI chief Khan said the planned anti-government rally will now be marked as a day of thanksgiving in Islamabad.



 Addressing a press conference outside Bani Gala, Khan thanked those who were part of his struggle against corruption. "Go home and rest," Khan told supporters, "You have to return to Islamabad tomorrow to celebrate thanksgiving at Parade Ground."



 "I am elated that the investigation into Nawaz Sharif's (alleged corruption) will begin day after tomorrow." PTI had announced the rally in Islamabad to force Sharif to resign for a fair probe into the scandal. According to the Panama Papers, three of Sharif's four children - Maryam, Hasan and Hussain were owners of offshore companies and "were owners or had the right to authorise transactions for several companies."



 Sharif and his family have dismissed the allegations of money laundering and denied any wrongdoing but the opposition is demanding an independent probe. </s> A top Pakistani court Wednesday suspended the jail sentences of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law in a corruption case and ordered their release from a high-security prison. 



 A two-judge bench of the Islamabad High Court heard the petitions filed by former Sharif, 68, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar challenging their conviction related to the purchase of luxury flats in London. 



 Justice Athar Minallah read the judgment and suspended the sentences handed to them by the accountability court judge Mohammad Bashir on July 6. Sharif, 68, Maryam, 44, and Safdar, 54, were sentenced to 11 years, eight years and one year, respectively, in prison in the Avenfield properties case.

 

The two-judge bench ordered the release of the former premier, his daughter and son-in-law from the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.

 

Sharif, Maryam and Safdar were also directed to submit bail bonds worth Rs 500,000. 

 

The court also dismissed the National Accountability Bureau's request to first announce a judgment on the maintainability of the pleas. The bench also imposed a fine on the NAB lawyers earlier for using delaying tactics. 



 The NAB was also pulled up by the Supreme Court on Monday when it rejected its petition challenging the IHC's decision to hear Sharifs' petitions against the Avenfield verdict. 

 

Chief Justice Saqib Nisar termed the NAB petition as frivolous and imposed a Rs 20,000 fine on the anti-corruption watchdog. 



 A large number of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders, including Shehbaz Sharif, Pervaiz Rashid and Khurram Dastgir, were present in the courtroom for the hearing.



 Sharif resigned as Pakistan prime minister last year after the Supreme Court disqualified him from holding public office and ruled that graft cases be filed against the beleaguered leader and his children over the Panama Papers scandal.

 

The Avenfield case was among the three corruption cases filed against the three-time former premier and his children by the NAB on the Supreme Court's orders in the Panama Papers case which disqualified Sharif. </s> Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for corruption, while his daughter Maryam Sharif has been given seven years. The verdict was delivered by an accountability court in Pakistan in one of the four cases of corruption against Nawaz Sharif - the Avenfield corruption case, which is related to the ownership of four flats in the posh Avenfield House in London.

"(Nawaz Sharif) has been awarded 10 years imprisonment" over the purchase of high-end properties in London, defence lawyer Mohammad Aurangzeb told news agency AFP. Prosecution lawyer Sardar Muzaffar Abbas also said that the court had ordered the properties be confiscated.

The verdict comes three weeks before general elections in Pakistan on July 25.

Both Nawaz Sharif and Maryam are in London, attending to the former PM's wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, who was diagnosed with throat cancer last year and shifted to the UK for treatment. Since then, Maryam and Nawaz Sharif have made several trips back and forth from London to attend the hearings and attend to Kulsoom.

Nawaz Sharif wanted the announcement of the verdict delayed by a week, but that request was dismissed by the court today. Mr Sharif had said he wanted to hear the judgement of the case while standing in the courtroom where he "endured more than 100 hearings" with his daughter.

Nawaz Sharif and Maryam were also fined heavily by the court. While Nawaz Sharif will have to pay $10 million, his daughter has been fined $2.6 million.

The Avenfield case was among the four corruption cases filed against the former PM and his children by the NAB on the Supreme Court's orders in the Panama Papers case which disqualified Nawaz Sharif.

Nawaz Sharif, a three-time prime minister, resigned from the post last year after Pakistan's Supreme Court disqualified him from holding public office and ruled that graft cases be filed against him and his children over the Panama Papers scandal. </s> The Pakistan Supreme Court will shortly announce the verdict in the Panama Papers leak case that implicated the country’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family members.

Prior to the judgment, there was a widespread fear in Pakistan that Nawaz may lose his job as the Prime Minister. There were also reports in Pakistani media that the ruling party of Pakistan, PML-N, was already mulling on the alternatives, including a call for an early election, in case the court judgment forced Nawaz to step down.

Last year, the Panama Papers leak by a consortium of international journalists had revealed that Sharif and his relatives owned offshore companies in tax havens dealing in millions of dollars in property transactions. The revelation had shocked the countrymen, forcing the PM to clear the air on television on April 5, 2016. Nawaz Sharif even said he was open to a probe into Panama leaks by a judicial commission. However, his clarification failed to convince the opposition or stop Pakistani people from worrying about his dubious business deals.

Here is what Panama case is about:

The Panama Paper leak, which also became famous as ion media parlance as Panamagate scandal, revealed that eight off-shore companies were linked with Nawaz, his children and his brother, Chief Minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif.

Following Nawaz’s attempt to get rid of the taint on Pakistan TV, a committee of five ex-SC judges approached by the government to probe the allegations against Sharif and his family refused to do so.

In May last year, the then Pakistan military chief General Raheel Sharif asked the PM to resolve the Panama controversy, according to Dawn.

In October last year, the Pakistan Supreme Court accepted petitions filed by several parties in connection with the Panama papers leak against Nawaz. Later in the same month on October 28, the SC formed a larger bench to initiate proceedings into the case.

In January this year, a BBC report revealed that Sharif family had purchased properties in London’s upscale Park Lane neighbourhood in the 1990s and there was no change in ownership since then. A few days later, A German daily tweeted documents showing Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam’s involvement in the Panamagate. On February 23, the SC reserved its judgment in the case after concluding the hearing. </s> Supreme Court rules there is not enough evidence to order Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's removal over alleged corruption.

Pakistan's Supreme Court has ruled there was insufficient evidence to oust Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over corruption allegations, but has ordered a high-level investigation into the charges.

The court issued its verdict on Thursday afternoon in a case based on the "Panama Papers" leaks that was moved by opposition leaders seeking his removal from office.

"The Supreme Court has decided … the same thing that Nawaz Sharif himself had decided six months ago, when he ordered the formation of a commission to investigate [the allegations]," Khwaja Asif, a senior leader of Sharif's ruling PML-N party, told reporters outside the courthouse following the announcement.

Sharif will remain in office during the course of the investigation, which will also focus on his sons Hassan and Hussain, the verdict said. </s> Pakistan is waiting with a baited breath for the Supreme Court’s decision in the high-profile Panamagate case against Prime Minster Nawaz Sharif and his children amid speculation that the adverse ruling may force him to step down. The Supreme Court announced yesterday that its five- member bench will issue the verdict in Panama case later in the day. The case was launched on November 3 and the court held 35 hearings before concluding the proceedings on February 23.

The case was based on several identical petitions by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan and others about alleged illegal assets of the family of Sharif in London. The assets surfaced when Panama papers showed that they were managed through offshore companies owned by Sharif’s children.

The petitioners have asked the court to disqualify 67- year-old Sharif under Article 62 and 63 of the constitution because he was involved in corruption and was no more “honest” and “truthful” as given in the Constitution. It is generally believed the court may not disqualify the Prime Minister but it may pass comments which will bring a lot of moral pressure on Sharif to step down.

“I don’t think he will be disqualified but his moral authority may be impacted,” said Manzoor Wassan, a senior leader of opposition Pakistan People Party (PPP). Asif Ali Zardari, the co-chairman of PPP, in an interview with a private TV channel asked Sharif to resign in case the decision was against him.

“We did not resist when the Supreme Court disqualified [then premier] Yousaf Raza Gilani. We chose another prime minister. Nawaz should do the same,” said Zardari. Zardari’s handpicked Prime Minister Gilani stepped down in 2012 when the Supreme Court convicted him for disobeying court orders.

Zardari chaired an important meeting of PPP yesterday and also called another meeting today after the decision will be announced to assess the political situation. Sharif’s nemesis Imran Khan and his party announced to launch movement for next election irrespective of the outcome of the decision. Khan held a meeting of party leaders yesterday and asked them to stay in Islamabad to decide further course of action after the court verdict.

Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, one of the petitioners, said that the decision will be “historic”. “It will result in a political earthquake in the country,” he said in Rawalpindi.

Meanwhile, in a series of tweets Maryam Nawaz dispelled the impression that the premier was worried about the expected judgement in Panama case.

“People love Nawaz Sharif. It is not about the prime minister speaking. It’s what he’s speaking. His narrative is constructive and about development and progress. Eyes forward, mind focused, heart ready…game on, world ! Wazir-e-Azam Nawaz Sharif,” one of her tweet said.

She also taunted the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf saying: “When all your plans have miserably failed and your precarious future hinges on… your best bet is a court decision”.

Sharif’s supporters are adamant that their leader was “innocent” and will emerge stronger after the verdict. “His name is not in the Panama leaks. He is not committed any wrong. So he will be victorious,” said Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique. Rafique also said that election will be held on time (next year).

The security has been increased in and around the court. Dozens of policemen and personnel of law enforcing agencies are present around the court premises. Regardless of the impact of the decision, it is believed that it will be an important milestone in the fight against corruption.
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif goes home after his disqualification by the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case.