Panama Papers verdict fallout: Nawaz Sharif can never contest elections

Islamabad: In a major development in Pakistan's political scenario, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was on Friday disqualified for life by the Supreme Court, after a probe team found his wealth far above his earnings in the Panama Papers case.

Pakistan Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf confirmed that after the SC verdict Sharif was not eligible to contest elections in future.

A five-judge SC bench ordered that a case be registered against Sharif and ruled that a reference be sent against him and his family to an accountability court.

The court also ordered the National Accountability Bureau to wrap up the case within six weeks.

While delivering the order, the judges ruled that the prime minister had been dishonest to Parliament and the courts and could not be deemed fit for his office.

The scandal is about alleged money laundering by Sharif in 1990s, when he twice served as prime minister, to purchase assets in London. The assets surfaced when Panama Papers leak last year revealed that they were managed through offshore companies owned by Sharif's children.

The assets include four expensive flats in London.