Panama leaks inquiry: Govt rejects ‘dictation’ as opposition refuses to relent

Premier Nawaz met his brother Shahbaz Sharif and discussed the political situation

ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE:

Nawaz’s aides reject opposition ToRs as biased, person-specific

A day after mustering the support of his political allies, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Sunday that he would not ‘accept dictation’ on a judicial inquiry he has ordered into revelations in the Panama Papers that over 200 Pakistanis — including his three children — had secreted their money in offshore companies.

The government has already rejected the terms of reference (ToRs) proposed by nine opposition parties for a proposed judicial commission that will investigate the Panama leaks. Nonetheless, it says that it will engage the opposition to find the middle ground on the ToRs.



Premier Nawaz, who had had a family lunch at Jati Umra, in Raiwind on Sunday, met his brother Shahbaz Sharif where they discussed the political situation emerging from the Panama leaks.  “The two leaders agreed that the government will counter the opposition’s propaganda with a development agenda,” a source told The Express Tribune. “The prime minister said his government is willing to engage the opposition on the ToRs — but will never accept any dictation on the issue.”



The meeting came a day after key allies assured the government of their unwavering support in its row with the opposition over the Panama leaks inquiry. The Sharif brothers decided on Sunday that the government would not only keep consulting its allies on the issue but would also open backdoor communication channels with prominent opposition leaders.

Khursheed Shah, the leader of opposition in the National Assembly, said on Saturday that the prime minister could not muzzle the opposition’s voice seeking an independent judicial inquiry into the Panama leaks. “Although he has rejected our ToRs, he cannot hide from the facts,” Shah said in an Express News show.

The government has dubbed the opposition’s ToRs ‘unconstitutional and mala fide’. The prime minister’s key aides reiterated the government’s position on Sunday, accusing the opposition of ‘complicating the matter’. “Even senior opposition politicians do not agree with these ToRs as they believe these are targeted at one person,” Adviser on National History Irfan Siddiqui told journalists in Islamabad.

In its ToRs, the opposition has proposed that the inquiry start from the Sharif family, including the prime minister, followed by the rest of the Pakistanis named in the Panama Papers. They have also proposed that the inquiry against the Sharif family be completed within three months, while investigations against other Pakistanis could be completed within a year.

According to Siddiqui, most people have rejected the opposition’s ToRs as “Terms of Revenge rather than Terms of Reference”. However, he said the government and its allied parties were serious in engaging with the opposition to break the deadlock over the ToRs, so that the judicial commission could start its inquiry.

Meanwhile a deputy minister in the federal cabinet also dismissed the opposition’s ToRs as ‘biased and person-specific’. “Accountability should be carried out against all those named in the Panama Papers,” Anusha Rahman, the minister of state for IT and telecommunication, said in a TV talk-show.

The prime minister has already ordered a judicial inquiry, and offered himself for accountability even though he has not been named in the Panama Papers, Anusha said.

Opposition to thrash out strategy ahead of parliament session

 Verbal duels are expected in parliament between treasury and opposition lawmakers over the Panama leaks as the two houses are scheduled to convene separately on Monday (today).

A flurry of meetings is expected ahead of the sessions. Opposition parties will meet to work out a strategy on how to deal with the government which says it is ‘open to dialogue’ but will not ‘accept dictation’ on the terms of reference (ToRs) for a proposed judicial commission which will investigate revelations in the Panama Papers.



Khursheed Shah, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, has called a meeting of the parliamentary leaders of all opposition parties in his chamber around noon. The meeting will discuss a letter Shah has written to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to formally propose the opposition’s ToRs, according to his office. The meeting will also chart out a future course on the issue which has triggered a political storm in the country.



Later in the day, Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is likely to convene a meeting of its lawmakers to finalise its strategy for the session. The PTI has been leading the chorus seeking resignation of Premier Nawaz as he has lost the moral authority to stay in power following revelations in the Panama Papers that his three children had offshore holdings.

In the afternoon, Aitzaz Ahsan, the leader of the opposition in the Senate, will host a meeting of opposition parties in the upper house of parliament on the same issue. Leaders from the PPP, PTI, PML-Q, MQM, ANP, Jamaat-e-Islami and Qaumi Wattan Party are expected to attend these meetings.

The government has spurned the opposition’s 15-point ToRs as ‘unconstitutional and mala fide’, though it has decided to engage the opposition to evolve consensus on fresh ToRs. Allies also threw their weight behind the government in a meeting on Saturday and rejected the opposition’s ToRs. They also advised Premier Nawaz not to discuss the issue in parliament as is demanded by the opposition, the PTI and PPP in particular.

PTI lawmaker Asad Umar said the government was shying away from clarifying its position on the Panama leaks in parliament. “The Panama leaks will be the key talking point in the National Assembly on Monday,” he told The Express Tribune. He disclosed that he had proposed two weeks ago that the house committee on finance discussed the issue – and the committee chairperson had endorsed. “Sadly however, it is not on the agenda of the committee’s meeting scheduled for Monday,” he regretted.



Meanwhile, PPP Senator Saeed Ghani told The Express Tribune that the Panama leaks was most likely to be discussed in the upper house of parliament even though it was a private members day in the Senate on Monday.

Agenda items

The National Assembly will convene at 5pm on Monday where Commerce Minister Commerce Khurram Dastagir and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar will table two ordinances in the lower house of parliament. Dar will also present a bill in the house.

In the Senate, Babar Awan will introduce a bill seeking to amend a law about the number of judges in the superior judiciary. PPP Senator Taj Haider will move a bill seeking an amendment in the National Accountability Bureau Bill 2015. Another PPP senator, Rehman Malik, will move a resolution to condemn India’s continuous sponsorship of terrorism in Pakistan through their spies.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2016.