Tag: Mian Saqib Nisar

Pakistan's Supreme Court effectively ended the political career of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday, voting unanimously to ban him for life from holding any public office. The verdict plunges Pakistan into more political instability in the lead up to elections, expected this summer. The Dawn newspaper quoted Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar as remarking from the bench that the verdict was handed down because the public deserves "leaders of good character." The explosive documents showed that the Sharif family had used offshore companies to acquire expensive real estate in London and that the prime minister himself could not otherwise account for assets "disproportionate to his known means of income." He was replaced by interim Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who also belongs to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (N). In October, an anti-corruption court indicted Sharif on corruption charges. Some see the high court's verdict as a victory for its anti-corruption crusade, but Sharif also has few friends in Pakistan's military – the country's most powerful institution. They also see the court's ruling as a ploy to weaken the popular ruling party, which is expected to win upcoming elections. Marriyum Aurangzeb, the minister of information, denounced the verdict immediately after it was issued. Some analysts expect Sharif's brother, Shehbaz Sharif, a powerful chief minister of Punjab, to campaign for the prime minister's job.