The Nationalist Party has pounced on a Pakistani court's decision to bar sitting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from office, saying the south Asian country was "now giving us lessons on justice".

Mr Sharif was this morning ordered to step aside by a Pakistani supreme court judge, following a probe into his family's wealth which arose out of Panama Papers revelations. The data leaks had revealed that Mr Sharif's family bought expensive London apartments through offshore companies. 

READ: Pakistan PM Sharif ordered out following Panama Papers probe

In a statement, the PN drew parallels between the political situation in Pakistan and the local one, saying Dr Muscat was under "criminal investigation" and that there was "concrete evidence" linking his ally and chief of staff Keith Schembri to money laundering.

"Instead of the best in Europe, Joseph Muscat has made us worse than Pakistan when it comes to matters of justice," the PN said. 

The PN accused the "corrupt clique in Castille" of doing everything within their power to halt any investigation into their affairs, adding that a decision to appeal a magisterial decree showed that Dr Muscat, Mr Schembri and minister Konrad Mizzi "have plenty to fear from an investigation".

The Panama Papers revealed that both Mr Schembri and Dr Mizzi had secret offshore structures in place, including companies in Panama. The two men have insisted the set-ups were created for family planning reasons and that no bank accounts were ever set up for them.

Reports by anti-money laundering investigators into Mr Schembri's affairs had found "reasonable suspicion" that he was involved in money laundering and asked the police to investigate. 

One of those investigators, who has since been sacked, told the Times of Malta that he believes police buried files related to Mr Schembri and never registered them. Police have denied the claim.