Barely a year after Pakistanis reinstated a democratically-elected government by voting Pervez Musharraf out of power, the country is again faced with a major political turmoil with the Supreme Court on Wednesday barring former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from contesting elections because of prior criminal conviction.

The apex court unseated his brother Shahbaz, chief minister of Punjab, because of alleged irregularities in the elections. While charges against Nawaz stemmed from the Musharraf-led coup in 1999, Shahbaz's rivals had challenged his election to the provincial assembly.

Governor's rule has been imposed in the province.

Nawaz had predicted the court verdict last week, saying president Asif Ali Zardari was conspiring with the Musharraf-appointed chief justice of the apex court to get rid of them.

The verdict, castigated across Pakistan, heightened tension between the Zardari-led Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz). Thousands of Sharif supporters came out on the streets in almost all major cities of Punjab to spew their venom against Zardari.

Stocks fell 5.12% as investors sold on fears that the nuclear-armed country, struggling to contain Islamist violence, was heading into a fresh phase of political instability.

The Sharifs' lawyer Akram Sheikh told reporters: "Zar-dari had a hand in the disqualification of Nawaz. Today's decision is according to his wishes."

Zardari's spokesman was not available for comment.

Sheikh said it was up to the people to decide if the verdict was on merit, adding that he couldn't comment on the incomplete two-line judgment.

The PML(N), Pakistan's second-largest party, had withdrawn support from the coalition last year, demanding restoration of judges replaced in 2007 by Musharraf.

Amir Mir/ DNA-Daily News & Analysis Source: 3D Syndication