Nawaz Sharif has been in the line of fire since the Panama Papers scandal first came to light in April 2016, which eventually led to his ouster from the Prime Minister Office on charges of possessing assets beyond declared means.
The Panama Papers dump revealed that Sharif and his children owned offshore companies and assets, allegedly established from money channelled from Pakistan. The assets included apartments in London’s upscale Mayfair area.
The Supreme Court ordered investigations by a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) into allegations of Sharif's children using the offshore companies on petitions filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamhoori Watan Party and others.
The JIT was formed with representatives from the ISI, MI, NAB, FIA and SECP. Some of the questions it had to probe included: where did the money for the company, Flagship Investment Limited, come from? And can the story that the Sharifs transported machinery from Dubai to Jeddah to establish the Azizia Steel Company be verified?
In July 2017, the court disqualified Sharif from office for failing to declare a receivable salary as an asset. The court then directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file corruption references on the basis of the JIT report against Sharif and his children. The accountability court had six months to decide the cases. But the deadline came and went. Eight extensions later, the apex court is expected to decide its final verdict on Monday, December 24.
Here is a look back at the major events from the time the Panama Papers scandal was first reported and the accountability court's verdict in the Flagship Investment and Azizia Steel Company corruption references.
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