The US State Department spokesman John Kirby on Thursday said Pakistani people will have to decide whether the PM should resign over the allegations levelled against him in the Panama leaks. Addressing a news briefing in Washington, he said that "These are decisions that the Pakistani people have to make, and we've talked about this before.
Clarifying the US takes corruption "very seriously", Kirby said, "But in terms of this particular case, I mean, these are decisions that the Pakistani people have to make." The State Department spokesperson's statement came in response to a question whether the US would support the democratic elected prime minister of Pakistan, or would want to see the corrupt leaders go home in the wake of the Panama Leaks.
"Separate and distinct from that-and I'm not talking about this specific case-the Secretary has also been very clear about the dangers of corruption around the world and what that does to fuel extremism and to increase economic instability and the corrosive effect that it can have on entire societies. So corruption is something we obviously take very seriously," Kirby said.
In an answer to another question, Kirby stated that Pakistan's government should conduct indiscriminate action against all terrorist groups including Haqqani, al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba. He further stated that the government of Pakistan has repeatedly stated that it will carry out indiscriminate action against all extremists. He said the United States will consider taking its concerns over Israel's settlement activity, or a general stall in negotiations toward a solution with the Palestinians, to the United Nations Security Council.