Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigns after Supreme Court orders his dismissal in corruption case - latimes

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigned Friday after the country's Supreme Court disqualified him from office due to corruption charges he and his family have been battling.

"Following the verdict, Nawaz Sharif has resigned from his responsibilities as prime minister," a spokesman for Sharif's office said in a statement.

The unanimous, five-judge ruling — delivered to a packed courtroom in the nation’s capital — came after an investigation into the family’s finances following the Panama Papers leak in 2015. The leak linked Sharif’s children to offshore companies they had not revealed in financial disclosures.

After the ensuing investigations, Judge Ejaz Afzal Khan said Sharif was no longer "eligible to be an honest member of the parliament.” The court had already recommended anti-corruption cases against Sharif, his daughter and political prodigy Maryam Nawaz, her husband Safdar, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and others.

The country’s election commission also disqualified Sharif from serving in parliament.

Sharif and his family have denied wrongdoing in the cases.

Maryam Nawaz tweeted after the verdict that her father was sent home, “but only to see him return with greater force.” She asked her party to “stay strong.”

Sharif is not the first prime minister to leave office due to documents leaked in the Panama Papers — leaked internal files from a Panamanian law firm that indicated means by which wealthy and powerful people hid their money. - Read More

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigns after Supreme Court orders his dismissal in corruption case

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