to Pakistani media, Shahbaz is expected to contest for parliament from Nawaz Sharif's now-vacant seat, which is a PML-N stronghold. Once in parliament, Shahbaz can easily become PM thanks to the PML-N's strong majority which will allow the party to elect him into office on its own.

Shahbaz is currently the chief minister of Pakistan's Punjab province and will have to quit that post to take over as prime minister.

In his first public comments since Friday's Supreme Court ruling, Nawaz Sharif said his "conscience is clear". 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 Papers leaks that his children were linked to offshore companies.

Sharif's dismissal has sparked uncertainty ata time when Pakistan was enjoying a rare period of relative stability, with militant attacks slowly declining and economic growth hitting its highest pace in a decade.

DISQUALIFIED FOR BEING DISHONEST

On Friday, the Supreme Court disqualified Nawaz Sharif from holding the office of the prime minister after finding him not to be "sadiq" and "ameen" (honest and righteous).

The verdict came in a case connected to the Panama Papers leak. The massive leak of documents had prompted a probe into the former prime minister's family's wealth over allegations that they had links to offshore companies nad owned property in excess of their incomes.

Sharif, who himself wasn't named in the Panama Papers expose, has denied any wrongdoing on his or his family's part. He was disqualified following a special court-mandated probe