Ousted Pakistani PM nominates brother to take over as interim leader

Pakistan's ousted primeminister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday nominated his brother Shahbazto eventually take over as leader of the country and lashed outat political rivals and the Supreme Court ruling thatdisqualified him from office.

Sharif also put forward a staunch ally from his rulingparty, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, as an interim prime minister whilehis brother contests a by-election for parliament to becomeeligible to take the reins.

For now, the nuclear-armed South Asian country is without aleader until parliament convenes to elect a new premier.

• Pakistan PMNawazSharifresigns after top court cites corruption

Dynastic politics have a long history in Pakistan, where inthe past the military has staged multiple coups and no primeminister has completed a full term since independence fromBritish colonial rule in 1947.

Sharif, whose party won a majority in parliament in 2013,said he was dumbfounded by Friday's Supreme Court ruling todisqualify him from office over unreported income from a companyowned by his son in Dubai.

Criminal investigation ordered

The court also ordered a criminal investigation into him andhis family.

Sharif has said the salary paid to him was nominal and henever received the funds. He described the court case as apolitical vendetta by opposition leader Imran Khan and itsverdict as judicial overreach.

"My conscience is clear," he said in his first publiccomments since resigning on Friday after the court rulingdeclared him unfit for office.

He also stressed that the court did not prove any corruption or siphoning off public money after months of investigation stemming from the revelation in last year's Panama Papersleaks that his children were linked to offshore companies.

Still, Sharif said he would no longer seek public office and urged supporters to back his brother now chief minister of Punjab province as long-term successor.

"I have quit my office, so someone has to take it, and after a lot of consultations ... Shahbaz Sharif is nominated," Sharif said in a speech to members of his ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.

Sharif nominated ally Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who was thepetroleum minister in his last cabinet, as an interim primeminister for a period of less than two months.

Change of leadership sparks uncertainty

Sharif's dismissal has sparked uncertainty at a time whenPakistan was enjoying a rare period of relative stability, withmilitant attacks slowly declining and economic growth hittingits highest pace in a decade.

PML-N has a strong majority in parliament so should have noproblem appointing its choice as the new prime minister.

Sharif said he would continue fighting for Pakistan'sconstitution, but did not mention any role of Pakistan'spowerful military in his dismissal.

A day earlier a senior Sharif ally hinted that elements ofthe military were involved.

"We know very well what the crime of Nawaz Sharif and theMuslim League is. What do we ask for? We ask for civiliansupremacy in Pakistan," Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiqtold a news briefing on Friday.

The army has not commented on Sharif's removal, or onallegations they were involved. The army has dismissed claims inthe past that they were behind the Supreme Court's push againstSharif.