Nawaz Sharif shown the door in Panama Papers case – What next?

Nawaz Sharif, who has a tight control over his party, is expected to appoint brother Shahbaz Sharif as Pakistan's next premier.

Islamabad: Pakistan's Supreme Court on Friday ordered Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to step down and disqualified the PML(N) chief for life from his post after Joint Investigation Team (JIT) found his family's wealth was far above their earnings in the Panama Papers case.

With Sharif's tenure coming to an unceremonious end, all eyes are on his ruling PML-N party, which has a majority in the Parliament.

Sharif, who has a tight control over his party, is expected to appoint brother Shahbaz Sharif as Pakistan's next premier. Shahbaz is the chief minister of Punjab province.

Three of Sharif`s four children -- Maryam, his presumptive political heir, and his sons Hasan and Hussein -- were implicated in the papers. 

Pakistan is due to hold a general election next year. But with no clear succession in place, Sharif and the party which bears his name, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), faces an uncertain future for now.

Sharif may also challenge the order before another SC bench.

Given Pakistan's long history of military coups, all eyes are also fixed on Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Sharif, who became Prime Minister for the third time in 2013, had earlier denied wrongdoing and had warned that his ouster would destabilise Pakistan at a time when the economy was rebounding after a decade of political and security chaos. Sharif was the country's 20th Prime Minister.