Pakistan's beleaguered Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday refused to step down even as the clamour for his resignation got louder after the Panama case probe panel recommended filing of a graft case against him and his family. Addressing an emergency Cabinet meeting, 67-year-old Sharif termed the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report a pack of "allegations and speculation.".
The six-member JIT, probing Sharif family's alleged corruption, in a 10-volume damning report submitted to the Supreme Court on July 10, recommended that a corruption case be filed against Sharif and his sons - Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz - as well as daughter Maryam.
At the first Cabinet meeting after the submission of the JIT report to the apex court, Sharif said that he will not resign as the prime minister. "The people of Pakistan elected me and only they can remove me from this post," he said, responding to opposition parties, demanding his resignation. Sharif claimed that his family "earned nothing after entering politics, but lost a lot", and that the language used in the JIT report displays malafide intentions. "Those demanding my resignation on false and unwarranted claims should first look at themselves," Sharif said.
