Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was on Friday disqualified from office by the Supreme Court
which sent his case to an anti-corruption court for trial in the Panamagate graft scandal.


In a unanimous verdict, the Supreme Court ordered that a case be registered against Sharif and ruled that a reference be sent against him and his family to an accountability court.

 Supporters of the Pakistani ruling party Muslim League headed by Nawaz Sharif rally for their leader in Lahore, Pakistan, Pakistan, Friday, July 28, 2017.  (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

The court also ordered the National Accountability Bureau to wrap up the case within six weeks.
The 67-year-old prime minister was additionally disqualified from holding his office. The judges ruled that the prime minister had been dishonest to Parliament and the courts and could not be deemed fit for his office.

Nawaz Sharif: A prime minister who never completed his tenure

 Supporters of Pakistani opposition parties share sweets to celebrate the dismissal of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, July 28, 2017.  (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

Nawaz Sharif, known as the 'Lion of Punjab', became the Prime Minister in the politically unstable Pakistan for a record three times, but every-time he was forced to quit in the middle of his term - first by the presidency, then the military and now the judiciary.

Sharif, who leads the country's most powerful political family and the ruling PML-N party, successfully managed to swim through all the "tsunamis" since he assumed power for the third term in June 2013, but a Supreme Court ruling against him in the Panamagate case struck a heavy blow to his career.

The court verdict disqualifying Sharif plunges Pakistan into a political crisis at a time when country is facing brittle economy and surge in militancy.

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(With inputs from agencies)