Pak Supreme Court ordered Nawaz Sharif and his 2 sons to appear before a Joint Investigation Team.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was given a reprieve today when the Supreme Court held off on a verdict on corruption allegations against him in the "Panama Papers" leaks but ordered an investigation in a ruling that quoted "The Godfather". Mr Sharif, 67, has denied any wrongdoing, but late last year, the Supreme Court agreed to take up the case of his family's offshore wealth after opposition leader Imran Khan threatened street protests.
These are the 10 developments of the story:
- Mr Sharif and his children are accused of corruption in the case that has captivated Pakistan and threatened to topple the prime minister after the Panama Papers leak linked the family to offshore businesses.
- "Behind every great fortune there is a crime," said the Supreme Court today, quoting from Mario Puzo's The Godfather as it ordered Mr Sharif and his two sons to appear before a Joint Investigation Team. The team, which will include anti-corruption officials along with the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence, has to submit a report in 60 days.
- Two of the five Supreme Court judges reportedly said Nawaz Sharif was "dishonest" and should be disqualified, but they were outnumbered.
- After the ruling, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan tweeted, "A great SC judgement which has completely rejected Nawaz Sharif's entire story. PM should resign immediately as he has lost all moral authority."
- The controversy chases Mr Sharif's party at a time when Pakistan is in the midst of difficult relations with India and as its civilian government and powerful military appear to be on uneasy terms. The general election must be held by next year.
- The controversy erupted with the publication of the so-called Panama Papers last year; 11.5 million secret documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca which documented the offshore dealings of many of the world's rich and powerful.
- Among the global elite implicated were three of Mr Sharif's four children - his daughter and presumptive political heir Maryam, and his two sons. At the heart of the allegations is the legitimacy of the funds used by the Sharif family to buy several high-end London properties via offshore companies.
- Mr Sharif is an industrialist serving his third term as Prime Minister after the first two were interrupted by interventions from the country's powerful military. The ruling PML-N party insists that the wealth under review was acquired legally through family businesses in Pakistan and the Gulf.
- In 2014, Imran Khan led a months-long protest that paralysed the government quarter in the capital, Islamabad, after rejecting Mr Sharif's decisive election win a year earlier.
- Mr Sharif enjoyed a good rapport with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but relations between India and Pakistan have plunged to their worst in decades on account of a series of deadly attacks by Pakistani terrorists on Indian army bases. India has also blamed Pakistan for inciting civilian unrest in Kashmir which is seeing near daily and often violent demonstrations against security forces.
