Nawaz, his family vacate PM House; reach Murree

• Ex-PM shakes hands with all staff members before his departure

Former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif vacated the Prime Minister’s House and left for Murree on Sunday morning along with his family members.

The former prime minister decided to reside in the hill station of Murree than his Raiwind estate in Lahore till the election of the new prime minister — slated for Tuesday. Senator Pervaiz Rasheed and Senator Asif Kirmani were reportedly at the PM House to see-off the former prime minister.

Nawaz is accompanied by his wife Kulsoom Nawaz, daughter Maryam Nawaz and mother. The former prime minister personally met all the staff members of the PM House before his departure. He thanked them for their good work and hoped that they would also fully cooperate with the new prime minister.

The Supreme Court in a judgement had disqualified Nawaz Sharif as the prime minister for concealing the salary he was supposed to draw as the chairman of his son’s Dubai-based company. The five-member bench gave a consensus verdict, disqualifying Nawaz Sharif for not being honest under Article 62 (1)(f) of the constitution and the Representation of the People Act, 1976 (ROPA).

The court ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file references against him and members of his family. Nawaz Sharif failed to complete his third term as the prime minister and he was disqualified for lifetime for submitting a false statement in his nomination papers about his assets abroad. In 1993, he was sacked by the-then president over graft allegations, while in 1999, he was ousted in a military coup.

The ruling PML-N has decided to get senior party leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi elected as interim prime minister and Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif as successor to Nawaz Sharif.

On Saturday, Nawaz Sharif said that he feels proud that he was not disqualified over corruption charges. “There is no reason for disqualifying him and any member of his family and he did not deserve the treatment which was meted out to them,” he said. “After giving accountability of three generations what came out was just an Iqama which was not my source of income. On the other hand, there are people whose pockets are full but they never declare their complete assets,” he said.