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.

A supporter of Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif passes out after the Supreme Court's decision to disqualify Sharif in Lahore, Pakistan July 28, 2017 | Source: Reuters

 

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.
Opponents of Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif react after the Supreme Court's decision to disqualify Sharif, in Lahore, Pakistan July 28, 2017. | Source: Reuters

 

  • 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.
Nawaz Sharif | Source: Reuters

 

  • 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)