Govt turns to allies amid opposition’s onslaught over Panama leaks inquiry

Allies reject opposition’s ToRs; vow to defend govt

ISLAMABAD:

The government convened a meeting of its political allies on Saturday to secure a reiteration of support for the beleaguered prime minister against the relentless pressure from opposition parties over the Panama leaks scandal.

The government has rejected as ‘unconstitutional and mala fide” the terms of reference (ToRs) proposed by nine opposition parties for the proposed judicial commission that will investigate revelations in the Panama Papers. Throwing their weight behind Premier Nawaz Sharif, the allies endorsed the embattled government’s stance on the ToRs.

JUI-F Ameer Maulana Fazlur Rehman, PkMAP chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Hasil Bazinjo of the National Party, PML-Zia head Ejazul Haq and Professor Sajid Mir of the Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadith attended the meeting that took stock of the ballooning political storm stirred up by the Panama leaks, and gave suggestions for a counter-strategy. They decided that from now on they would also respond to criticism from the opposition parties over the offshore holdings of the Sharif family.



Premier Nawaz’s senior aides Ishaq Dar, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Khawaja Asif, Zahid Hamid and Pervaiz Rashid also attended the session which rejected the opposition’s terms with one voice. Law Minister Zahid Hamid briefed the participants about the supposed objectives of the opposition’s ToRs which, according to him, were targeted at the prime minister and his family.

The opposition proposes that the inquiry begin from the Sharif family, including the prime minister, followed by the rest of the Pakistani nationals named in the Panama Papers. The opposition says the prime minister has to prove his innocence. “This shows the opposition wants to unseat the prime minister,” Hamid was quoted as telling the government allies. “The opposition’s ToRs are selective and violative of the Constitution and the law.”

After the briefing, the allies agreed that it was a shared responsibility to respond to the opposition’s relentless onslaught, sources told The Express Tribune. Officials said the reiteration of support from the allies sent out an important message to the opposition parties that they stood shoulder to shoulder with the prime minister. “This will weaken the opposition’s stance on the ToRs,” one official said.



According to sources, the allies also advised the prime minister against clarifying his position on the Panama leaks in parliament. They said the prime minister and his children should only appear before the judicial commission that will probe into allegations that three scions of the Sharif family had set up offshore companies through money laundering.

The meeting also pored over a letter sent by the leader of the opposition, Khursheed Shah, to the government formally proposing the ToRs of nine opposition parties. The government and its allies decided to write a letter in response to identify the lacunas in the opposition’s ToRs.  It was also decided that the allies, and not the government, would write the reply to Shah’s letter in the coming week.

The allies would reject the opposition’s ToRs as ‘unconstitutional and mala fide’, but at the same time they would say the government was open to discussion on the ToRs, according to sources. The allies advised the prime minister against forming a committee immediately to engage the opposition. They asked him to wait for the opposition’s reaction to the letter they would write to Shah. “If the opposition shows willingness to engage with the government, then a committee, headed by Finance Minister Dar, will approach them,” a participant of the meeting told The Express Tribune.

The allies, however, said the committee would not discuss the ToRs with opposition negotiators. Instead it would try to find common ground to address the Panama leaks scandal. They were confident that they would stave off the opposition’s movement the way they had defended the government against PTI’s Dharna last year.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the opposition’s ToRs were not compatible with the law of the land. “Does the opposition want to take the issue towards any extra constitutional step,” he questioned.

The cleric-turned politician accused the opposition of frequently and conveniently changing its position on the Panama leaks issue while the “government agreed to all of their demands”. “It appears that the opposition does not want a transparent inquiry into claims in the Panama Papers,” he said, adding that the opposition instead gave a verdict in the form of its ToRs.


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