Pakistan's Supreme Court on Friday disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over long-running corruption allegations, a decision that forces him out of office.

Sharif "stands disqualified", the court said in its highly anticipated ruling over the allegations stemming from the Panama Papers leak last year, which linked the premier's family to lucrative offshore businesses.

"He is disqualified as a member of the parliament so he has ceased to be holding the office of Prime Minister," Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan told the packed courtroom, as quoted by AFP.

Sharif has been under pressure to resign since 2016 when leaked documents from a Panama-based law firm disclosed his family's offshore accounts. In

April, the court acting on petitions from the opposition set up a six-member team to probe the allegations.

The investigation concluded a "significant disparity" existed between Sharif family's declared wealth and its known sources of income.