Watch: Maryam hails Shahbaz's 'international sadiq and ameen' status

LAHORE: PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif and his niece and PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday had a light hearted exchange regarding a clean chit given by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) to Shahbaz Sharif and his family following a corruption probe.

The NCA conducted a 17-month long probe in which it examined Shahbaz Sharif's financial transactions over the past 20 years. In it, no evidence of money laundering or criminal activities against the PML-N president or his family were found. 

Following a press conference addressed by her uncle today, in which he censured the ruling PTI’s ministers who according to him have been levelling allegations of corruption worth billions of rupees but could not prove any wrongdoing against him and his family, Maryam escorted him back to his car.

As Shahbaz sat in the front seat with the car door open, Maryam walked up to him and said: "Congratulations uncle. Allah has made you an international sadiq and ameen."

Shahbaz chuckled and gave her niece a high five, just before she pulled away.

Later, Maryam reacted to a video of the exchange with a smiley, saying: "We did a high five."

The words sadiq (honest) and ameen (trustworthy) are important components of the Pakistan Constitution.

Article 62 (1)(f) states that a person can only be a member of parliament if "he is sagacious, righteous, non-profligate, honest and ameen, there being no declaration to the contrary by a court of law".

Shahbaz's own brother, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was disqualified by a five-judge Supreme Court bench on July 28, 2017, in the Panama Papers case, under the same Article.

"It is hereby declared that having failed to disclose his un-withdrawn receivables constituting assets from Capital FZE Jebel Ali, UAE in his nomination papers filed for the General Elections held in 2013 in terms of Section 12(2)(f) of the Representation of the People Act, 1976 (ROPA), and having furnished a false declaration under solemn affirmation respondent No. 1 Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif is not honest in terms of Section 99(f) of ROPA and Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 and therefore he is disqualified to be a Member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)," read the verdict.

The SC later ruled that a disqualification under the Article is permanent.