Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigned on Friday after the country’s top court ruled him unfit for office for failing to disclose income and ordered a criminal investigation into his family over corruption allegations.
The prime minister’s fall follows revelations in the so-called “Panama Papers” last year, which revealed Sharif’s family had bought posh London apartments through offshore companies.
Here’s a timeline:
- April 4, 2016 – The Panama Papers show involvement of Sharif’s family in offshore companies.
- April 22, 2016 – Sharif asks the Supreme Court to form a commission to investigate the Panama leaks after pressure from the opposition. Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan demands an independent probe by the high court itself.
- April 24, 2016 – Khan threatens protests against Sharif and says the prime minister had lost “moral authority” to rule.
- May 16, 2016 – Sharif proposes parliamentary commission probe into the scandal; opposition walks out.
- Oct. 28, 2016 – Khan accuses government of placing him under virtual house arrest; supporters fight police ahead of plan to shut down capital in protest.
- Nov. 1, 2016 – Khan backs down from a threat to paralyse capital with a “lockdown” after violence breaks out with many of his supporters injured and the Supreme Court agrees to hear arguments to form a commission to investigate Sharif.
- Nov. 2, 2016 – Supreme Court agrees to set up a judicial commission to probe corruption allegations against Sharif, stemming from Panama Papers leaks.
- April 20, 2017 – Supreme Court rules there was insufficient evidence to order Sharif’s immediate removal but orders a Joint Investigation Team to look further into the source of his family’s wealth.
- July 11, 2017 – Judicial investigators rule Sharif’s family accumulated unusual wealth; allies denounce findings.
- July 27, 2017 – Longstanding political ally and Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan says he would quit once top court rules on corruption allegations, regardless of the verdict.
- July 28, 2017 – Sharif resigns after court rules him unfit to hold office and orders more criminal investigations into his family. Court says it disqualified Sharif for not declaring income from a company in United Arab Emirates, which was not in original Panama Papers revelations.
(Feature image source: Reuters)