ToRs committee: Opposition thwarts govt bid to alter panel composition

PML-N attempted to increase panel strength to accommodate MQM

ISLAMABAD: The nascent parliamentary committee formed to draft the terms of reference (ToRs) for inquiry into the Panama leaks hit controversy on Thursday when the government tried to raise the number of its representatives on the panel.

Hours after agreeing with the opposition to form a 12-member committee – six from either side – the government sought increase in the strength of the panel to 16, arguing that Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) had been left out in the earlier formula.



MQM had quit the nine-party opposition alliance in the wake of the PM’s speech on the Panamagate scandal, but felt the pinch of being left out following the agreement on the ToRs committee. As such, it approached the government seeking representation on the panel.

During Thursday’s proceedings, the National Assembly initially passed a resolution altering the composition of the ToRs panel to eight ruling party and eight opposition representatives. However, outcry from the opposition – particularly the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) – persuaded the government to revert back to a 12-member committee. The resolution moved earlier was subsequently amended to this effect.



“It happened because of communication gap or misunderstanding,” Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said when the opposition cried foul. “Neither the leader of opposition [Khursheed Shah] nor [Finance Minister] Ishaq Dar are responsible,” he said while urging both sides which locked horns over the issue ‘to move forward’.



“No one is denying MQM’s existence,” PTI lawmaker Shah Mehmood Qureshi said. He expressed suspicion that the government had reached a deal with the MQM in an underhand attempt to secure numerical superiority in the ToRs committee.

Qureshi said the opposition parties had signed an agreement over the composition of the panel which the government was changing unilaterally. “If the government is so concerned about MQM, it should sacrifice some of its own six spots on the panel to give the party representation,” the PTI lawmaker added.

Presenting his party’s point of view, MQM’s Asif Husnain said that his party had the fourth largest representation in the lower house with 25 members. He insisted that MQM is still part of the opposition.

“We have been giving our input since opposition parties joined hands over the Panama leaks and therefore, should be part of the committee on ToRs,” Husnain said.



Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq also advocated MQM’s stance, saying the party could not be denied from its fundamental right. Sher Akbar Khan from the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) also called for including MQM in the committee.

When it seemed the government would give in to the opposition’s demand, Husnain made one last attempt on his party’s behalf. “We will accept [opposition leader] Khursheed Shah’s decision, but one party [PTI] should not try to dictate terms,” he said.

But, Shah also endorsed the stance of the PTI, saying that a decision was taken on Wednesday but the government had changed the formula without consultation.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2016.