Opposition jubilant over PM’s ouster

All parties take credit for sending Nawaz packing

PESHAWAR/HYDERABAD/QUETTA/KARACHI: All opposition parties of the country were jubilant as the Supreme Court disqualified Nawaz Sharif from the post of prime minister in a landmark decision on Friday in the Panama Papers case.

Each and every party was taking credit for the PM’s ouster.



Activists of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) celebrated the landmark decision outside the Peshawar Press Club.

Holding placards and chanting slogans “Go, Nawaz Go, Maryam ke Baba chor hain” (Maryam’s father is a thief), PTI workers danced to the beat of drums and praised PTI chief Imran Khan for starting the accountability process against the country’s leadership.



Congratulating the party’s local representatives, PTI Peshawar District Nazim Mohammad Asim Khan requested the party workers to celebrate the disqualification of PM, but without aerial firing.

“SC’s decision is a landmark verdict and comes following decades of efforts by PTI for a corruption-free Pakistan,” PTI spokesperson Shah Farman was quoted in a handout as saying.

Furthermore, PPP workers distributed sweets, while crediting their party for the efforts that helped disqualify the premier. “We aren’t against the democratic setup, but against the corrupt people within it, who spoiled the system,” PPP District General Secretary Misbahuddin told The Express Tribune.



He said the SC verdict proved that judiciary cannot be pressured.

Addressing a JI demonstration, party’s provincial chief Mushtaq Ahmad announced across-the-board accountability while celebrating the SC verdict.

Terming the verdict historical for a corruption-free Pakistan, he said, “We congratulate the entire nation for their efforts in eradicating corrupt elements from the political system.”

Celebration in Hyderabad

Hundreds of workers of PPP, PTI and other political parties in Hyderabad also joined the celebrations by taking out rallies and holding demonstrations.



PPP workers distributed sweets outside the Hyderabad Press Club, while the PTI workers took out a rally consisting of dozens of motorbikes and cars.

The rally moved through different parts of the city chanting slogans in favour of the judiciary and the Joint Investigation Team, which probed the Sharif family in the Panama Leaks case.

"Today the whole nation is grateful to Imran Khan who remained persistent in his struggle to expose corruption of the Sharif family," Ahmed Ali, who introduced himself as a PTI worker, said.



Separately, JI provincial leader Abdul Waheed Qureshi offered thanksgiving prayer which was attended by dozens of workers on the Station Road in Hyderabad.

"The JI is observing Yaum-e-Tashakkur," said Qureshi, attributing the PM's disqualification under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution to the JI's petition filed in the Supreme Court.

The workers of political parties also took to the streets in Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah, Matiari, Badin, Tando Muhammad Khan and other districts of Sindh.



PTI Balochistan chapter celebrates PM’s ouster

PTI, Balochistan chapter chief has called the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif as the PM the beginning of a new journey for Pakistan.

“Plunderer of the nation’s resources has been held accountable,” said Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind during a presser at the Quetta Press Club.

Distributing sweets on the occasion, Rind said the entire nation was celebrating the Supreme Court’s verdict as accountability had begun of those who plundered the country's resources for 70 years.



Praising PTI chief Imran Khan for fighting against corruption and winning the battle, he said that the rulers had been compelled to bow their heads in front of the apex court.

MQM-P calls for NA session to elect new PM

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) called for a National Assembly session on immediate basis to elect a new prime minister.

A press conference was held by MQM-P at its temporary headquarter in Bahadurabad area, hours after the SC disqualified Nawaz Sharif as the PM.

Panamagate scandal: JI, PPP join hands for ‘collective struggle’

Flanked by several senior party leaders, MQM-P chief Farooq Sattar said, “The decision by SC is the beginning of accountability in Pakistan.”

Sattar urged the SC to take suo-motu notice of 179 mega corruption cases in Sindh.