Nawaz Sharif resigns after Pakistan Supreme Court disqualifies him from office

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday resigned from his post, his office said, hours after the country's Supreme Court disqualified him over corruption claims against his family. The Supreme Court said Sharif is not fit to hold office and ordered a criminal investigation into him and his family. The court also disqualified Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. [arve url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIby73FK7IM"/] The prime minister's office said in a statement that Sharif has "stepped down" despite having "serious reservations" about the judicial process.

Historic: After Iceland the second prime minister - Navaz Sharif - has to leave office because of #panamapapers. Verdict #Pakistan @ICIJorg

— Bastian Obermayer (@b_obermayer) July 28, 2017

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Friday disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over long-running corruption allegations, a highly anticipated decision that forces him out of office. "He is disqualified as a member of the parliament so he has ceased to be holding the office of Prime Minister," Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan told the packed courtroom.

---

Also Read- Facts: Who could be Pakistan’s next prime minister after Sharif?

---

The court also asked the national anti-corruption bureau to launch a further probe into the allegations against Sharif, which stem from the Panama Papers leak last year linking the premier's family to lucrative offshore businesses. No Pakistani prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term.

Dear World, I am a proud Pakistani coz my PM has been disqualified for corruption.. This is the start of a New Pakistan.#PanamaVerdict— Mariam's Madness (@mariamsmadness) July 28, 2017

Most have seen their tenures cut short by the powerful military or interference from the Supreme Court. Others have been ousted by their own party, forced to resign -- or been assassinated. It is the second time in Pakistan's 70-year history that the Supreme Court has disqualified a sitting prime minister. In 2012 then-prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was disqualified over contempt of court charges for refusing to reopen a corruption case against the sitting president Asif Ali Zardari.

Pakistan Court Orders Premier to Resign Due to Corruption #PanamaPapers https://t.co/7ISSGI5cGD

— ICIJ (@ICIJorg) July 28, 2017

The Supreme Court's unceremonious end to Sharif's tenure represents a record third time he has been ousted as leader before completing his term. In 1993 he was sacked by the then-president over graft allegations, while in 1999 he was ousted in a military coup. Nawaz Sharif denies wrongdoing and has warned his ouster would destabilise Pakistan at a time when the economy was rebounding after a decade of political and security chaos