Ties between India and Pakistan are set to become more turbulent with the stepping down of Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister after the Supreme Court there disqualified him from holding public office for his alleged involvement in the Panama Papers scam.
Along with Sharif, Pakistan’s Supreme Court also disqualified Finance Minister Ishaq Dar from his post in a 25-page verdict that led to protests and chaos across Pakistan. While the opposition parties celebrated the verdict, supporters of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said Sharif would continue to take decisions and that it was not yet “over” for him.
Sharif’s daughter, Maryam, who has been accused of document forgery in the corruption probe tweeted that that her father would be “unstoppable” in 2018 and would make a comeback with a resounding victory during the elections.
Meanwhile, the hunt for a successor ensued with several names doing the rounds. The names of Sharif’s brother, Shahbaz, was in the forefront. He is now Chief Minister of the Punjab Province, sources told
Imran Khan lauds judgment “Finally, the law has caught up with the powerful. I salute the judiciary, they are our heroes,” tweeted Imran Khan of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Sharif’s arch rival.
Sharif, 67, would have become the first Prime Minister in Pakistan’s history to have completed a full term next year had he not been convicted on Friday. The longest-serving PM so far has been Yousaf Raza Gilani.
Sharif became Prime Minister for the first time in 1990 but his term ended abruptly in 1993 due to internal political problems. He again became Prime Minister in 1997, but that came to an end in 1999 when the then Army Chief of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf ousted him in a coup. Sharif’s stepping down once again confirms the fact that the Pakistani military establishment will not let a civilian government function on its own, and is expected to appoint a puppet Prime Minister till elections, scheduled to take place next year, are held, sources said.
“This is a coup and there is going to be complete chaos in Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif has been gotten rid of by the Army. Once again, an elected Prime Minister has not been allowed to complete his term. So, it is a big setback for the civilian-based political process there. As for its ties with India, it is going to be more complicated. India has to be very vigilant now. There is going to be internal instability there and this will impact India as well. An unpredictable condition cannot be ruled out,” Former High Commissioner of India to Pakistan TCA Raghavan told BusinessLine .
The moment the verdict was announced, there were reports of protests across Islamabad to Lahore, with PML-N supporters shouting slogans against the verdict, while those in the opposition saying ‘Go Nawaz Go’outside the Supreme Court.
The case has now been forwarded to Pakistan’s anti-corruption body, National Accountability Bureau, by the Supreme Court, to file a case against Sharif and his family within six weeks. It has also directed the body to wrap up the case within six months thereon.
The Supreme Court verdict stated that Sharif had been “dishonest” to Parliament and courts and cannot continue in the public office.
The court had set up a six-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to examine Sharif’s involvement in the corruption case. The JIT submitted its report on July 10, where Sharif and his family were proven guilty and since then pressure on him to quit office started building up.