Panama Papers case 'a joke', says Sharif

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has described the ongoing case in the Panama Papers Leaks case as a joke, rather than as an effort on accountability.

Confirming that he would face the ongoing Joint Investigation Team (JIT) proceedings with fortitude and bravery, Sharif said he would not let the conspirators seeking to ruin his character and reputation succeed.

Sharif, who is in London for a medical check up, was quoted by the Dawn, as saying that "To be honest, what is going on in the form of the joint investigation team's probe into the Panama Papers case is beyond my comprehension. When they found no corruption in any of the PML-N government's projects during its four-year rule, they are trying to find something (fishy) in our (private) business. I ask the JIT what it is trying to detect."

"I had asked the JIT members during my appearance before it about what they were looking for. Our worst enemies [an apparent reference to the PPP's Rehman Malik] are appearing before it.

"The JIT's history is before everyone. It starts with a WhatApp call [by the Supreme Court registrar]... and even before that."

The prime minister said the nation was headed in one direction and the JIT in another.

He will return home on June 29.