Judges rule that the Prime Minister was dishonest to Parliament and courts and could not be deemed fit for his office.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from holding office for life. This was stated by Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf.

A spokesman of Prime Minister House said that Mr. Sharif resigned following the judgment despite having reservations on the verdict.

Following the judgment, the Pakistan Cabinet stands dissolved.

It was a majority 5-0 decision by a Bench of the court headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and comprising Justices Ejaz Afzal, Gulzar Ahmed, Azmat Saeed and Ejazul Ahsan.

The judges ruled that the Prime Minister was dishonest to Parliament and courts and could not be deemed fit for his office.

Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was also disqualified by the court

The judges ruled on a petition from Opposition leader Imran Khan. On April 20, two judges declared that Mr. Sharif was not truthful.

The court has recommended that all material collected by the Joint Investigation Team would be sent to an accountability court within six weeks, and that cases would be opened against Mr. Sharif and his children, Maryam, Hassan and Hussain Nawaz, and son-in-law Captain Safdar. A judgment should be announced within 30 days, it said.

One judge will oversee the implementation of this order.

This is the third time Mr. Sharif has been unable to complete his term in the chief executive's office. He was dismissed on July 18, 1993 and overthrown the second time on October 12, 1999 in a military coup.