Come up with proof of corruption: Nawaz

ISLAMABAD: Amid loud thumping of desks by the Federal Cabinet members, a confident and resolute Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said he was not going to resign and those seeking his resignation must come up with solid proof against him.

“I have no burden on my conscience by the grace of Allah. I haven’t done anything wrong. Our family has gained nothing from politics but lost a lot,” he said while chairing an emergency meeting of the Federal Cabinet at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) here.

The cabinet reposed full confidence in the leadership of the prime minister and endorsed his firm decision not to step down.Addressing the cabinet, he asked: “Should I resign on the demand of anti-democracy forces? Why should I resign and on what basis? I was brought into power by the mandate of the people and only the people have the mandate to remove me.”

“The decisions on who will be in power are made in the heavens, while people make decisions on the ground,” he said in a candid manner.Nawaz said the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) had bagged more votes in the general elections than the aggregates of those demanding his resignation. “I will not resign on the demand of a group of conspirators.” He reaffirmed that the journey of progress will not be allowed to derail, as the country had already paid a huge price due to political crisis in the past.

He said projects worth billions of rupees were being executed but no evidence of any corruption was found.He said the controversial Joint Investigation Team (JIT) had submitted a report based on accusations and conjecture, and was reflective of animosity and malice.

He said the JIT report had not even given a hint of any corruption or financial misappropriation.He said the government had his fingers on the pulse of the masses and scientific polls show that the vast majority of the people of Pakistan were still with him.

He said those who were trying to create disruption in the country in the name of rigging, corruption, Panama or other pretext would remain unsuccessful.He said the PML-N got an overall lead in votes over those who were seeking his resignation. He said his governmentwas in the process of setting up mega projects worth billions of rupees where no corruption had been proved.

He said his government had 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 added.

The prime minister said he was not involved in corruption of even a penny in the past 32 years since 1985. He said the JIT did not even question him about any such corruption.

“All these secrets would see the light of the day at an appropriate time,” he said and added that the time was not far. “We will not let the pace of progress and development derail,” the prime minister vowed.

He said Pakistan had paid a heavy price for such antics in the past and now this trend should come to an end.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 on the orders of the Supreme Court.

Nawaz on Wednesday announced setting up of a committee to propose the name of the new Islamabad International Airport.The federal cabinet approved the committee that would comprise Minister for Ports and Shipping Mir Hasil Khan Bazenjo, Adviser on National History and Literary Heritage Irfan Siddiqui, Minister for Information Maryam Aurangzeb and Barrister Zafarullah, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Law.

The new Islamabad international airport on the outskirts of Islamabad is in final stages of completion and is expected to be inaugurated in August.The first Greenfield airport would be able to handle the largest A380 aircraft and would be linked to the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad through a Metro road link.

It would be able to tackle 4,500 passengers simultaneously, and have 15 aircraft parking bays.The Federal Cabinet approved a broad-based agenda including cooperation with other countries in air services, climate change, defence and financial intelligence.

The cabinet approved accords for starting negotiations on air services with aviation of other countries including Azerbaijan, Serbia, Vietnam and Brazil.The meeting gave ex-post facto approval to start negotiations and approval for signing of Memorandum of Understanding between the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and the respective departments of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Azerbaijan.

The cabinet gave a nod to Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol (KP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); the meeting also approved MoU signing on cooperation in disaster management with Kazakhstan through the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Ministry of Climate Change.

Approval was given to cooperation in defence and technical training with countries including Indonesia, Turkey, Thailand and Poland.The meeting ratified inter-governmental agreement on CAREC Institute, Economic Affairs and a MoU with Cuba in the field of tourism and economic affairs.

The cabinet approved signing of an agreement on cooperation in higher education and professional training with Turkey.

Ex-post facto approval was given to an agreement between the Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, and National University of Modern Language (NUML), Islamabad.Approval was given to ratification of an MoU between Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) of Pakistan and Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Turkmenistan Concerning Cooperation in exchange of financial intelligence related to money laundering and terrorist financing.

The meeting also approved signing of an MoU between the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBRF) on bilateral cooperation.The meeting approved cooperation in the field of agriculture and food security with Uzbekistan and Uganda. The meeting approved to start negotiations with the Government of Kuwait for signing an MoU for petroleum exploration in Pakistan.

The cabinet approved to amend the existing convention for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion of taxes on income with several countries including Turkmenistan, Serbia, the United Kingdom, Mauritius, Tajikistan, Thailand, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Kuwait, Yemen, Japan, Bangladesh, Oman, Ukraine, Iran, Vietnam and Sudan.

The meeting gave ex-post facto approval to start negotiations and approval for signing of an MoU to develop relations in tourism between Pakistan and Maldives.

Approval was also given to start negotiations on draft MoU for opening of Defence Credit Line of US$10 million for Maldives.Another approval was given for signing of an MoU by Civil Service Commission of Maldives with National School of Public Policy, Pakistan.

The cabinet also approved appointment of Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), Petroleum and Natural Resources, besides approval of terms and conditions of appointment of members of Gas and Oil, of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra).