TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled to disqualify Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from his position as leader of the country’s government.

Friday’s landmark ruling comes after months of hearings in a case instigated by the “Panama Papers” leaks, related to alleged corruption during his previous two terms in office.

A five-member bench of the Supreme Court announced the verdict to a packed courtroom in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

Sharif’s ouster means that his ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, which holds a comfortable majority in parliament, will have to nominate a new leader of the government in his absence, Aljazeera reported.

The government could also call snap polls, although a general election is due by early August next year

The 67-year-old becomes the latest Pakistani prime minister not to have completed a five-year term in office, many having been ousted in coups by the country’s powerful military, which has ruled the country for roughly half of its 69-year-history.

Sharif and three of his children have been referred to a National Accountability court, which has been ordered to register corruption cases against them within six weeks, the judges said.

Full story: tasnimnews.com

Tasnim News Agency