- PM says JIT not given even a hint of any corruption or misappropriation
- Federal cabinet reposes full confidence in leadership of Nawaz Sharif
Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Thursday rejected demand of the opposition and categorically said he would not resign from his office.
He made the announcement while chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet here at the PM Office, which received a loud applause from his cabinet colleagues, who thumped desk on the announcement of the prime minister not to tender his resignation.
Prime Minister Nawaz said that the controversial Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has submitted a report based on accusations and conjecture, and was reflective of animosity and malice. He said that the JIT report has not given even a hint of any corruption or financial misappropriation.
“Our family has gained nothing from the politics, rather it has lost a lot,” he said. The opposition has been seeking resignation of the prime minister following submission of a report at the end of a 60-day probe into accusations of money laundering and concealment of wealth, on the orders of the Supreme Court.
“Should I resign on the demand of anti-democracy forces? Why should I resign, on what basis,” Prime Minister Nawaz asked his colleagues. “I have no burden on my conscience, by the grace of Almighty Allah,” he said and added he was brought into power by the mandate of the people, and only the people have the mandate to remove him.
“The decisions on who will be in power are done on heavens, while people make the decisions on ground,” he said. The prime minister said that the government had his fingers on the pulse of the masses and scientific polls show that the vast majority of the people were still with him. He said that those who have been trying to create disruption in the name of rigging, corruption, Panama Papers, or other pretext would remain unsuccessful.
He said that the Pakistan Muslim League-N got an overall lead in votes over those who were seeking his resignation. He said that his government was in the process of setting up mega projects worth billions of rupees where no corruption has been proved. He said that his government has accomplished in four years which could not be done in the past two decades.
“We will not let an era of darkness return to our industries and villages,” he said. The prime minister said that he was not involved in corruption of even a penny in the past 32 years since 1985. He said that the JIT did not even question him about any such corruption. “All these secrets would see the light of the day on appropriate time,” he said, adding that time was not far.
“We will not let the pace of progress and development derail,” he said. Pakistan has paid a heavy price for such antics in the past and now this trend should end, he said. Earlier, the cabinet approved proposals of a number of agreements and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation with different countries.
The cabinet approved start of negotiations for draft MoU with Maldives for opening up of Defence Credit Line of 10 million dollars and an MoU for cooperation in the field of tourism. It approved start of negotiations on air services agreements with Azerbaijan, Serbia, Vietnam and Brazil. Approval was given to signing of MoUs for cooperation with Azerbaijan and Tajikistan in trade promotion.
The meeting approved signing of defence cooperation agreements with Indonesia, Turkey and Poland. It also accorded approval to signing of MoUs with Russia for cooperation in education, finance and banking sectors. Earlier, the cabinet constituted its special committee to propose nomenclature of the new Islamabad airport.
NISAR REACTS: Minister for Interior Affairs Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan strongly reacted to incorrect reporting by a private TV channel about his remarks on the cabinet meeting. The reporting about remarks of the minister was not accurate, and on part of the TV channel it was inappropriate and against the journalistic norms to link remarks with the minister which he had not expressed.
A spokesman of the Interior Ministry said that the media channel should follow truth and report based on reality. It said that the minister’s remarks during the cabinet meeting were on record but it was quite different that had been reported. The minister did not say any such word that the channel was reporting, he added.
