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Groton Daily Independent
Saturday, July 29, 2017 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 029 ~ 48 of 67
Sharif’s relations with the military reached a new low in recent months after a respected English-language newspaper published a front-page article claiming a rift between civilian and military leaders over ghting militancy. The army suspected Sharif’s government leaked the story and tweeted its dissatisfaction with his attempts to make amends by ring a government minister suspected of links to the reporter.
Political analyst Mehdi Hassan said the army may not have played a direct role in Sharif’s dismissal, but representatives of the powerful ISI and Military Intelligence on the court-appointed investigation team may have contributed to the nal decision.
Sharif’s political opponents, many of whom have questionable records concerning corruption themselves, saw the decision as a vindication of their months-long battle and proof that even the politically powerful can be held accountable.
The court ordered that criminal charges be led against Sharif, his two sons, his son-in-law and his daugh- ter, Maryam Nawaz. It said the charges must be brought within six weeks and decided within six months. The case dates back to the “Panama Papers” disclosures in 2016, when documents leaked from a
Panama-based law rm indicated that Sharif’s sons owned several offshore companies.
Sharif’s son, Hussain Nawaz, at the time acknowledged owning offshore companies but insisted they
used legally acquired funds to set up businesses abroad.
The court-appointed investigators in July concluded, however, that a signi cant disparity existed between
the Sharif family’s declared wealth and its known sources of income.
Maryam Nawaz tweeted that her father would “return with greater force,” and she asked her party to
“stay strong.”
The court on Friday also ordered Pakistan’s anti-corruption body to le corruption charges against Finance
Minister Ishaq Dar, a close relative of Sharif’s.
Hashmat Habib, a legal expert, said the court’s order was nal and that Sharif and his family could not
appeal.
It was the second time Pakistan’s Supreme Court has disquali ed a prime minister. In 2012, the court
found Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani guilty of contempt and ordered him to step down.
Zafar Ullah, a senior leader from Sharif’s ruling party, said he did not know whether it was “an irony of history or it was because of some conspiracy,” but no elected prime minister has served a full term in
Pakistan. ___
Associated Press writer Kathy Gannon in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed.
Muslim prayers end peacefully at Jerusalem mosque By IAN DEITCH, Associated Press
JERUSALEM (AP) — Prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque ended peacefully on Friday amid two weeks of un- rest over security devices at the major holy site in Jerusalem, Israeli police said, but violence ared in the West Bank, where a Palestinian was killed after he attacked soldiers and another died in clashes along Gaza’s border with Israel.
Tensions have been high since Arab gunmen killed two police of cers in the sacred Jerusalem compound on July 14, prompting Israel to install security devices at entrances to the site that is holy to both Muslims and Jews.
The move outraged Muslims and sparked some of the worst street clashes in years, threatening to draw Israel into con ict with other Arab and Muslim nations. Under intense pressure, Israel removed the metal detectors this week and said it planned to install sophisticated security cameras instead.
By nightfall Friday, Jordan’s religious body that administers the Jerusalem site said the situation at the compound had returned to what it was before the July 14 attack — a key Palestinian demand for protests to end. The Waqf said “all doors are opened in front of worshippers without restrictions or conditions,” adding that the development was a result of “pressure from the Jordanian government on the Israeli government.”