Sharja: This week in 1987…

It was on 17 June, 1987, that Sharjah ruler Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi was briefly overthrown by his brother, Abdelaziz Bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi. Sheikh Sultan was in London when his brother announced his ‘abdication’; Abdelaziz had accused Sultan of being unfit to rule, claiming his extravagance had run up debts of around Dh5bn (about $1.2bn at the time) for the emirate.