Investigation mechanism: Opposition awaits govt response on inquiry terms

Hints that both sides have moved closer to consensus on probe body

ISLAMABAD: Opposition groups dropped hints on Saturday that they had moved closer to the possibility of creating a consensus body for the Panama leaks probe after formally showing their willingness to hold talks with the government and devising a mechanism for investigating incriminating information contained therein.

Leaders of the opposition say they are currently awaiting the government’s response on their joint terms of reference (ToRs).

The government gave off positive vibes of its own, signalling its intention to engage the opposition over its inquiry terms. On Saturday, the prime minister held a meeting with his allies and indicated that a committee would soon be formed for holding talks with the opposition in this regard.

Several opposition lawmakers who spoke with The Express Tribune appeared more guarded, saying they could only say something with certainty once they had a response from the government over the issue of a formal sitting. “We will definitely respond when we receive an invitation from the government,” Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi said.

Qureshi pointed out that so far they were only hearing verbal statements from government functionaries about the formation of a committee to engage the opposition. “The opposition parties will set up a committee to respond (to the government) once we receive a response from the government,” he said, adding that the PTI chairman had already urged the prime minister to present himself up for accountability under the proposed ToRs of the opposition.

Earlier, the PM’s legal team briefed the prime minister about the opposition’s proposed terms.

Pakistan Peoples Party’s Senator Saeed Ghani told The Express Tribune that his party would raise the issue in the May 9 session of parliament. The PPP had already pointed out that instead of addressing the nation, the prime minister should have consulted the opposition, taking parliament into confidence, he said. “The opposition wants Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family to face probe in the wake of the Panama leaks.”

Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) deputy chief Asadullah Bhutto said that ultimately joint ToRs will be formulated through consensus which JI believed would be a ‘positive’ sign for democracy.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2016.