Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday hoped that he and his family would come out clear of the Panamagate scandal and said, “There is nothing to fear as our hands are clean.”

Talking to the journalists accompanying him on his two-day visit to Tajikistan, the prime minister asked “What are the allegations against me? Have I looted the national exchequer? Have I done some corruption or got kickbacks?”

He said accountability was being held of a person who made this country a nuclear power. He regretted that his family business matters were being exploited for political gains.

The premier said that the nation had given him mandate for a full five-year term, had faith in him and firmly believed in his development-oriented policies. Nawaz hoped the people would again vote his party into power in 2018, as they [people] were aware of his ability to deliver and bring about a sea change in their lives.

He said conspiracies had been hatched against his government time and again, and expressed optimism that this time too his opponents would fail miserably.

“I have never accepted defeat. We faced the 2014 sit-in and another round in 2016 and will sail through this crisis too,” he maintained.

The premier said his family had been victimised by former rulers Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto as well. Their industrial units were also nationalised in 1972 and not a single penny was given. “Yet we are being held accountable,” he added.

He said the ongoing victimisation of his family was having a negative overall impact on the country. He said the issue not only has had a depressing effect on the nation, but has also had a similar fallout on the national economy.

He pointed to the recent decline in the stock index and the appreciation of US dollar's price against the local currency and said all gains made to bring stability to the national economy were being eroded.