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PAKISTANI Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigned yesterday after the country’s Supreme Court disqualified him from office over corruption allegations.
The court panel, in a unanimous decision, disqualified billionaire Mr Sharif for not remaining “truthful and honest” in the face of evidence against him.
The ruling came after an investigation into his family’s wealth following the 2016 Panama Papers leak which linked them to offshore bank accounts.
Mr Sharif’s son Hussain Nawaz at the time acknowledged owning offshore companies but insisted they used legal money to set up businesses abroad.
But the probe concluded a “significant disparity” existed between the family’s declared wealth and its known sources of income.
In a brief statement, Mr Sharif’s office claimed the ruling was unjust, but the prime minister stepped down to “show his respect for the judiciary and rule of law.”
Khawaja Saad Rafique, a senior member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, urged supporters to keep the peace after what he described as Mr Sharif’s “unjustified disqualification.”
Pakistan’s opposition leader Imran Khan, the former criketer, who brought the case, hailed the court’s decision as a “good omen” for Pakistan.
He called for a grand rally in Islamabad on Sunday to celebrate the opposition’s victory in a “battle against corrupt elements.”
The court has recommended anti-corruption cases against Mr Sharif, his daughter and her husband as well as the country’s finance minister.
