ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani opposition party lawmakers tore up the agenda and shouted in a parliament session on Friday as they demanded that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif step down during an investigation into his finances.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif waves from a vehicle as he arrives to attend the Pakistan Day military parade in Islamabad, Pakistan, March 23, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood

Opposition leader Imran Khan said he would lead protests demanding Sharif’s resignation, saying the prime minister had lost the moral authority to stay in office while being investigated.

The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday there was insufficient evidence to order Sharif’s removal from office but called for further investigation into corruption allegations in connection with the so-called Panama Papers leaks.

A five-member bench was split three vote to two in favor of Sharif retaining his position.

On Friday, opposition lawmakers chanted slogans demanding Sharif’s resignation and tore up the assembly’s agenda for the day, before the speaker suspended the session, television footage showed.

“I was the petitioner in the case, the hearing continued for four months, at least I should have been allowed to speak in the parliament,” Khan, a former cricket star, later told reporters outside the assembly.

The Supreme Court, in its 549-page judgment, ordered a joint investigation team be formed to look into allegations around three of Sharif’s four children using offshore companies to buy properties in London.

The investigating team has two months to complete its inquiry, after which a special bench will decide what action to take, the court said.

The prime minister and his children deny any wrongdoing.

The joint investigation team will comprise members from six different government bodies including intelligence agencies and financial regulatory authorities.

“At least three institutions are directly under the control of the prime minister and his ministers. I don’t see how they would take a stand against the prime minister,” legal expert Farogh Naseem told Reuters.

While the court’s decision has been celebrated by Sharif’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League as a victory, legal experts and analysts say the extended investigation undermines his authority as he heads into an election due next year. </s> Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Tuesday called off anti-government protests he had planned for Wednesday and instead announced celebrations after the Supreme Court ordered a probe against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family over the Panama Papers scandal.

Mr. Khan had threatened to ‘lock down’ the capital on Wednesday by mobilising a million supporters to force Mr. Sharif to step down over corruption allegations against him and his family.

Mr. Khan said outside his Bani Gala residence here that it was time to “celebrate victory and offer thanks”.

“Go home and rest,” he told about 300 supporters who had been camping outside his residence.

‘Thanksgiving parade’

 

 He asked them to return to Islamabad tomorrow to celebrate thanksgiving at the Parade Ground in the capital.

“I am elated that the investigation... will begin day after tomorrow,” he said.

The Supreme Court has set November 3 as date of hearing in the case.

Three of Mr. Sharif’s four children are said to be owners of offshore companies, according to the Panama Papers.

Mr. Sharif and his family have dismissed the allegations of money laundering and denied any wrongdoing but the Opposition is demanding an independent probe.

The announcement to cancel the protests came just hours after party’s spokesman Naeem ul-Haq had said that the protest would go ahead as planned.

After Mr. Khan’s announcement that he would not enforce the ‘lockdown’ it is expected that the government would lift the roadblocks and clear entry points leading to Islamabad. </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> 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> ISLAMABAD, July 28 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif

 was disqualified Friday by the Supreme Court in a unanimous verdict, following a judicial probe under Article 62 of the Constitution.

 “Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif is not honest in terms of

 Section 99(f) of Representation of Peoples Act and Article

 62(1)(f) of the Constitution of Pakistan and therefore he is

 disqualified to be a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora,” the

 decision of the five-member bench said about Nawaz Sharif, who still

 had almost a year in power.

 The court in its final verdict termed Nawaz Sharif’s

 failure to disclose his “un-withdrawn receivables constituting

 assets from Capital FZE Jebel Ali, UAE” in the general

 election of 2013 – the major reason for his disqualification.

 “The President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is required to

 take all necessary steps under the Constitution to

 ensure continuation of the democratic process,” the order added.

 The five-member larger bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa

 and comprising Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Gulzar Ahmad, Justice

 Shiekh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan unanimously disqualified

 the prime minister.

 The bench had earlier ordered formation of a joint

 investigation team (JIT) after a trial, on a number of

 petitions that sought answers to questions raised by a trove of secret documents unearthed by an International Consortium of

 Journalists that exposed how politicians, bureaucrats and

 businessmen had stashed away billions of dollars of their

 wealth, ostensibly to save tax in the safe havens of Panama.

 The PTI filed its petition on August 29, 2016 seeking the

 prime minister’s disqualification, which along with others of

 Sheikh Rashid Ahmed of Awami Tehreek and Jamat-e-Islami,

 was accepted by the court in October.

 The six-member JIT headed by an additional director of the

 Federal Investigation Agency and members from Securities and

 Exchange Commission, State Bank of Pakistan, National Accountability

 Bureau, Military Intelligence and Inter Services Intelligence, in a

 60-day probe submitted the ten-volume report.

 Announcing the verdict, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan said the judgment

 was in continuation of judgments dated 20-04-2017 in constitution

 petitions No 29, 30 of 2016 and constitution petition No 03 of 2017,

 which ended up in the following order of the court:

 “By a majority of 3 to 2 (Asif Saeed Khan Khosa and Gulzar Ahmed,

 JJ) dissenting, who have given separate declarations and directions, we

 hold that the questions how did Gulf Steel Mill come into being; what

 led to its sale; what happened to its liabilities; where did its sale proceeds end up; how did they reach Jeddah, Qatar and the UK; whether respondents No 7 and 8 in view of their tender ages had the means in

 the early nineties to possess and purchase the flats; whether sudden appearance of the letters of Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al-Thani

 is a myth or a reality; how bearer shares crystallized into the flats;

 who, in fact, is the real and beneficial owner of M/s Nielsen

 Enterprises Limited and Nescoll Limited, how did Hill Metal

 Establishment come into existence; where did the money for Flagship Investment Limited and other companies set up/taken over by respondent

 No 8 come from, and where did the working capital for such companies

 come from and where do the huge sums running into millions gifted by respondent No 7 to respondent No 1 drop in from, which go to the heart

 of the matter and need to be answered. Therefore, a thorough

 investigation in this behalf is required.”

 The court directed the Election Commission of Pakistan to issue a

 notification disqualifying Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif from being a

 Member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) with immediate effect,

 whereafter he shall cease to be the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

 The court stated that the National Accountability Bureau

 (NAB) shall within six weeks from the date of this judgment prepare

 and file before the Accountability Court,

 Rawalpindi/Islamabad, the following References, on the basis of

 the material collected and referred to by the Joint Investigating

 Team (JIT) in its report and such other material as may be

 available with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and NAB

 having any nexus with assets mentioned below or which

 may subsequently become available including material that may come

 before it pursuant to the Mutual Legal Assistance requests sent by

 the JIT to different jurisdictions:-

 a) Reference against Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif,

 (respondents No. 1), Maryam Nawaz Sharif (Maryam Safdar),

 (Respondent No. 6), Hussain Nawaz Sharif (Respondent No. 7),

 Hassan Nawaz Sharif (Respondent No. 8) and Capt. (Retd).

 Muhammad Safdar (Respondent No. 9) relating to the

 Avenfield properties (Flats No. 16, 16-A, 17 and 17-A Avenfield

 House, Park Lane, London, United Kingdom). In preparing and

 filing this Reference, the NAB shall also consider the

 material already collected during the course of

 investigations conducted earlier, as indicated in the detailed

 judgments;

 b) Reference against respondents No. 1, 7 and 8

 regarding Azizia Steel Company and Hill Metal Establishment, as

 indicated in the main judgment;

 c) Reference against respondents No. 1, 7 and 8

 regarding the Companies including Flagship Investments

 Limited, Hartstone Properties Limited, Que Holdings Limited,

 Quint Eaton Place 2 Limited, Quint Saloane Limited (formerly

 Quint Eaton Place Limited), Quaint Limited, Flagship

 Securities Limited, Quint Gloucester Place Limited, Quint

 Paddington Limited (formerly Rivates Estates Limited),

 Flagship Developments Limited, Alanna Services Limited (BVI),

 Lankin SA (BVI), Chadron Inc, Ansbacher Inc, Coomber Inc; and

 Capital FZE (Dubai).

 d) Reference against Ishaq Dar (respondent No. 10)

 for possessing assets and funds beyond his known sources of

 income, as discussed in the judgment unanimous rendered by

 Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice

 Ijaz ul Ahsan;

 e) NAB shall also include in the proceedings all

 other persons including Sheikh Saeed, Musa Ghani, Kashif Masood

 Qazi, Javaid Kiyani and Saeed Ahmed, who have any direct or

 indirect nexus or connection with the actions of respondents No.

 1, 6, 7, 8 and 10 leading to acquisition of assets and funds beyond

 their known sources of income;

 f) NAB may file supplementary Reference(s) if and when

 any other asset, which is not prima facie reasonably accounted

 for, is discovered;

 g) The Accountability Court shall proceed with and

 decide the references within a period of six months from the date

 of filing such References; and

 h) In case the Accountability Court finds any deed,

 document or affidavit filed by or on behalf of the respondent(s)

 or any other person(s) to be fake, false, forged or fabricated,

 it shall take appropriate action against the concerned person

 in accordance with law.

 The bench requested the chief justice to nominate a judge

 of this court to supervise and monitor implementation of this

 judgment in letter and spirit and oversee the proceedings conducted

 by NAB and the Accountability Court in these matters.

 The court commends and appreciates the hard work and efforts

 made by Members of the JIT and their support and ancillary staff in preparing and filing a comprehensive and detailed report as per

 our orders. Their tenure of service shall be safeguarded and

 protected and no adverse action of any nature including transfer

 and posting shall be taken against them without informing

 the monitoring Judge of this Court nominated by the chief justice. </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. </s> 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> Cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party today filed a petition with the Election Commission seeking restrictions on ousted premier Nawaz Sharif’s political activities in the wake of his disqualification by the Supreme Court. The petition was filed by advocate Babar Awan on behalf of Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Dr Yasmeen Rashid, hours before Sharif was to lead a rally to his hometown Lahore from Islamabad via the historic Grand Trunk (GT) Road.

The petition has been filed under Section 5 of the Political Parties Order 2002 and requests Sharif’s disqualification from holding any post in any political party, the Dawn reported. The opposition has decried Sharif’s continued role in the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) after his disqualification by the apex court in the Panama Papers case.

The petition further states that the party carrying Sharif’s name should be banned, asking that nominations made by him for the post of the prime minister and for the cabinet should be declared illegal. On July 28, a five-member Supreme Court bench disqualified 67-year-old Sharif for dishonesty and ruled that corruption cases be filed against him and his children, forcing the embattled leader out of office. </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.
Pakistan's opposition interrupts Parliament's scheduled session demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resign during the investigation of his finances, per Thursday's Supreme Court ruling.