Panamagate: SC disqualifies PM Nawaz Sharif from holding public office



DAWN
December 27, 2017

The year 2017 will be remembered for a number of legal cases that held the country's attention captive, but none as much as the Panama Papers case that started in November 2016.

The first verdict, split 3-2 among the five-judge bench, was announced on April 30 and led to the formation of a joint investigation team (JIT).

Later on July 28, the bench announced its second and final unanimous verdict in the Panama Papers case: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif could no longer hold public office.

The bench — headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa — sent the premier packing under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution.

The court observed that Nawaz had failed to declare an iqama [UAE visa] and a salary of 10,000 dirhams from his son's company in the United Arab Emirates and therefore, was no longer sadiq [truthful] and ameen [trustworthy].

The verdict, a first of its kind, did not go down well with the ruling PML-N and its supporters. Questions were raised on the merits of the grounds for Nawaz's disqualification.

Some, however, felt that a welcome precedent for accountability of the country's elite had been set. of the outgoing year.



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