Islamabad: Nawaz Sharif on Friday stepped down as the Prime Minister of Pakistan soon after the Supreme Court disqualified him over long-running corruption allegations.
A spokesman for Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the premier has stepped down despite having reservations about the court order that disqualified him from serving.
In a brief statement, Sharif's office said "Sharif relinquished his charge as prime minister after learning that the Supreme Court disqualified him because of corruption allegations".
The statement claims that justice has not been done with Sharif, but the prime minister stepped down to show his respect for the judiciary and rule of law.
"He is disqualified as a member of the parliament so he has ceased to be holding the office of Prime Minister," Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan told the packed courtroom.
Along with the Pakistan premier, the apex court also disqualified Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in Panama graft case.
The court also asked the national anti-corruption bureau to launch a further probe into the allegations against Sharif, which stem from the Panama Papers leak last year linking the premier's family to lucrative offshore businesses.
No Pakistani prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term.
#WATCH: Scenes outside Supreme Court of Pakistan after Nawaz Sharif's disqualification as PM; 'Go Nawaz Go' slogans raised #PanamaVerdict pic.twitter.com/S5f1wR0bi2
— ANI (@ANI_news) July 28, 2017
Most have seen their tenures cut short by the powerful military or interference from the Supreme Court. Others have been ousted by their own party, forced to resign -- or been assassinated.
It is the second time in Pakistan's 70-year history that the Supreme Court has disqualified a sitting prime minister.
In 2012 then-prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was disqualified over contempt of court charges for refusing to reopen a corruption case against the sitting president Asif Ali Zardari.
The Supreme Court's unceremonious end to Sharif's tenure represents a record third time he has been ousted as leader before completing his term.
In 1993 he was sacked by the then-president over graft allegations, while in 1999 he was ousted in a military coup.
