PM says won't resign, will fight for the people till the end

ISLAMABAD: Reiterating his decision to not resign from office, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Friday that God willing he will continue to fight for the people of Pakistan till the last point. 

The premier made the remarks while chairing the parliamentary party meeting of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Friday.

Addressing the participants, the premier said the country has been going through ups and downs in the last 70 years, adding that governments have been dismissed in the country on accusations of corruption and being a 'security risk' in the past. 

Sharif said he has done nothing wrong and that his conscience is clear, adding that he is sure the Supreme Court will listen to what they have to say.

Indirectly referring to the anti-electoral rigging sit-in by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in 2014, the premier said preparations are under way for a third 'dharna'. "I feel like bringing everything out in the open, but not now," he stated.

He said in the last four decades, he set up various development projects, including power generation schemes and motorways, in Karachi and Punjab but not a single allegation of corruption has surfaced.

"No political family has ever presented itself for accountability the way we have," he said, adding that he never made any deals or signed NROs with anyone to save their skin.

The prime minister said he was hopeful about and welcomed the signing of the Charter of Democracy with Benazir Bhutto [in 2006] but was let down when she signed the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). 

We are being punished for bringing prosperity to the country, he claimed further. 

Sources said the meeting was called to ponder a strategy in response to the opposition’s calls for the premier’s resignation following the submission of the Panama case Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report.

At the start of the meeting, legal experts, including the prime minister's law adviser Barrister Zafarullah, gave a briefing on the JIT report and the government's potential response in the Supreme Court, sources said further. 

The meeting, held at the PM Office, was attended by the party's National Assembly members and senators. 

PML-N lawmakers reposed confidence in the premier, who has been under pressure from the opposition parties to resign from his post owing to the ‘damning’ charges levelled in the JIT report.

Sharif is the president of the PML-N whereas Senator Raja Zafarul Haq is the party chairman.

‘Won’t resign’

On Thursday, chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet, Sharif said he will not resign regardless of the demands being made by the group conspiring against him as the people of Pakistan have elected him.

Addressing the cabinet members, Nawaz termed the JIT report a concoction of allegations and stories regarding his family's private businesses.

The language used in the JIT report displays malafide intentions, he said, adding that his conscience is clear.

"Those demanding my resignation on false and unwarranted claims should first look at themselves," said Sharif, referring to the opposition parties.

The premier said the PML-N got more votes than all the parties demanding his resignation, adding he will not let the country's development become a target of conspiracies.

The members of the meeting agreed there’s no legitimacy to the demands of the premier's resignation, and expressed their complete support in the prime minister.

Since the JIT report was submitted to the Supreme Court’s special implementation bench on Monday, and subsequently leaked to the media, the premier has been holding regular consultative meetings with his top advisers.

JIT report

In its final report, the JIT observed major disparities in the finances of the Sharif family and their known and declared sources of income.

Following the report, the opposition parties demanded the premier resign. However, the ruling party leaders remarked they will contest the ‘concocted’ report in the Supreme Court.