Supreme Court had deemed Nawaz Sharif 'unfit for office' due to 'dishonesty,' 'corruption'

  ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigned on Friday after the country's Supreme Court disqualified him from office for "dishonesty" and "corruption." The High Court's ruling followed an investigation into the Sharif family's wealth spurred by the release in 2015 of the so-called Panama Papers allegedly linking him to his children's offshore accounts and overseas properties. Sharif, 68, was not mentioned in the Panama Papers but his children were linked in the controversial documents to offshore firms. A five-judge panel of the Supreme Court ruled that Sharif had been dishonest to Parliament and to the courts and was unfit for office. Silence enveloped the courtroom as the verdict was being read by Justice Ejaz Afzal. The panel ruled that Sharif had been dishonest for failing to disclose his earnings from a Dubai-based company in his nomination papers during the 2013 general election. Sharif had consistently denied any wrongdoing. A spokesperson of Sharif's office said in a statement: "Following the verdict, Nawaz Sharif has divested himself of his responsibility as prime minister." The statement however also said Sharif had "serious reservations" about the judicial process. The ruling party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), said Sharif would accept the court's decision. A statement from the PML-N said: "There has been an injustice against us. Nawaz Sharif will step down as premier of Pakistan despite reservations regarding the verdict." The country's election commission was ordered to issue a disqualification notice to Sharif and his Cabinet was dissolved. After the verdict was read, a CNN report said the opposition handed out candy in celebration. Former cricket player Imran Khan, leader of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, who worked for a probe on Sharif, called the Supreme Court's decision as a "victory for the people." "Nations are not destroyed by wars, bombs or natural disasters. They are destroyed when their institutions have been destroyed. This is the beginning. Now all of us have to protect our resources and not let the corrupt exploit them." Minister of Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique, who is a member of PML-N, blamed the military for Sharif's downfall, saying: "There has been an injustice against us. We are very aware what the actual crime of the PM is. We want civil supremacy. We come into power through democratic means. We give our lives to bring back democracy to this country. We give power to these institutions. We are being punished for this." Meanwhile, the High Court recommended the filing of corruption cases against several individuals, including Sharif, his daughter Maryam and her husband Safdar, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, and a few others. The hearings on the case against Sharif and others took 15 months and had been marred by controversy. According to a BBC report, the case should have been handled by a criminal court and the Supreme Court, which is an appellate body, initially refused to hear it. But the High Court later accepted the case and "took the unusual step of instituting its own investigation into the case, with a dominant role for military intelligence services." Sharif had been at the helm of Pakistan's politics for 30 years. No civilian prime minister had reportedly finished a full term in office. The High Court's ruling against Sharif was the first time in Pakistan's history that a leader was disqualified from office following a judicial process. Sharif's term was supposed to end next year and he would not be able to seek reelection due to term limits. Sharif served as prime minister thrice. He was prime minister from November 1990 to July 1993 and from February 1997 until October 1999 when he was ousted in a coup. 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