CORRUPTION

Panamagate: Pak Supreme Court disqualifies PM Sharif

PAKISTAN-POLITICS/ Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif | File

Probe team finds his wealth far above his earnings

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Friday disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in its much-awaited verdict after a probe team found his wealth far above his earnings in the Panama Papers case. The verdict will force Sharif's resignation over corruption allegations.

The scandal is about alleged money laundering by 67-year-old 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. Sharif leads Pakistan's most powerful political family and the ruling PML-N party.

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

A steel tycoon-cum-politician, Sharif had served as the Pakistan's prime minister for the first time from 1990 to 1993. His second term from 1997 was ended in 1999 by Army chief Pervez Musharraf in a bloodless coup.

In May, the Supreme Court set up a six-member joint investigation team (JIT) to investigate the charges against Sharif and his family.

The JIT submitted its report to the court on July 10.

Sharif had dismissed the report as a "bundle of baseless allegations" and refused to quit, despite demands to do so from several quarters, including opposition political parties.

On July 21, the court reserved its verdict after concluding the hearing.

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