SC dismisses Panama review petitions, maintains Nawaz Sharif's disqualification
The judgment means Sharif cannot return to politics barring a constitutional amendment.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News / AFP) – The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed all three review petition against its verdict in the Panama Papers case and maintained the decision of disqualifying former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for violating Article 62(1)(f) of the constitution.
"For reasons to be recorded later all these review petitions are dismissed," a five-judge bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and comprising Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Ejaz Afzal, Justice Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijazul Ahsan stated in the short verdict.
READ: SC disqualifies PM Nawaz in Panama Leaks case
In the July 28 judgment, the Supreme Court had ruled that because Nawaz Sharif failed to declare a salary accruing to him as an asset in his nomination papers for the 2013 election, he could not be considered ‘truthful’ and hence was unfit to continue in office.
Article 62(1)(f) sets the precondition for the head of government to be "sadiq and ameen" (truthful and honest).
However, Sharif family, Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law Captain (r) Safdar and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had filed three separate appeals in the apex to review the Panamagate verdict.
The allegations against Nawaz Sharif spiralled from the Panama Papers leak last year, which sparked a media frenzy over details of the lavish lifestyles and luxury London property portfolio of the Sharif dynasty.
Those claims prompted an investigation which said there was a "significant disparity" between the family’s income and lifestyle, and unearthed fresh claims over Sharif’s links to companies based in the United Arab Emirates.
Sharif has been ousted by corruption allegations once before, when he was sacked by the country’s then-president during his first term in 1993. He was removed from office in his second term by a military coup in 1999.
