Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif survives Panama Papers corruption ruling

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered further investigations into corruption allegations levelled by the opposition against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, saying there was insufficient evidence to order his removal from office.

Questions arose over the business dealings of Sharif's family when three of his children were linked to offshore accounts in the Panama Papers leaks in 2015.

The court late last year launched an investigation into Sharif's family's offshore wealth after opposition politicians accuses Sharif of failing to explain the source of the money and threatened to launch street protests.

The focus of the probe was on the funds used to purchase property in London using offshore companies.

Sharif and his family have denied any wrongdoing, and dismissed the claims as politically motivated.

Sharif claimed the wealth was acquired legally, but his critics have suggested offshore companies were used to launder illegally-obtained wealth or avoid taxes.

The Supreme Court's five-member bench was split on Thursday, with two judges voting against the Prime Minister but three choosing instead to order a further probe.

Investigators will now focus on how the family members transferred money to Qatar.

The Panama Papers saw 11 million secret documents leaked from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca which set out the offshore financial activities of political and business leaders and the wealthy elite around the world.

Malta’s minister Konrad Mizzi and Prime Minister chief of staff Keith Schembri were also named in the leak, exposed as having off-shore companies in Panama.