Being prime minister of Pakistan is one of the most challenging jobs in the world. In the 70 years of the country's independence, not one of its 18 prime ministers has completed a full term in office. Nawaz Sharif looked set to break that impressive streak until last week, when Pakistan's Supreme Court convicted him of concealing assets and removed him from office. The move is a victory for transparency in governance — although there are some questions about the committee investigating the charges — but it again undercuts the democratic processes that should govern Pakistan.
Sharif, head of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), is a three-time prime minister: He was dismissed by the president halfway through his first term and was overthrown by the military in a bloodless coup during his second term in 1999. Given his party's firm majority in Parliament, his removal does not transform Pakistan's politics but it does deprive the party and the government of its leading figure.
Sharif's downfall can be traced to the Panama Papers, the cache of documents stolen from a Panama law firm and released on the internet in 2015 that exposed the labyrinthine dealings of some of the world's richest and most powerful people.