Pakistan

ToRs committee: Panel decides not to appoint a chairperson

Decides that ToRs will be finalised through a consensus

Danish Hussain May 26, 2016

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. PHOTO: AFP

ISLAMABAD: In its maiden meeting, the 12-member parliamentary committee mandated to draft terms of reference (ToRs) for a proposed inquiry commission to probe Panamagate scandal has unanimously decided not to appoint any chairperson of the committee, primarily to ensure impartiality at every level.

The committee also decided that ToRs would be finalised through a consensus and not by majority vote.

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However, the joint opposition opposed inclusion of Law Minister Zahid Hamid as ex-officio member of the committee, saying it was agreed earlier that the parliamentary committee would be limited to 12 members, six each from the government and opposition parties.

During the maiden proceedings which lasted almost two hours, both sides exchanged their already drafted proposed ToRs with each other.

Ishaq Dar, Aitzaz Ahsan, Hasil Bizenjo, Muhammad Ali Saif, Ilyas Ahmad Bilour, Khawaja Asif, Saad Rafique, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Sahibzada Tariq Ullah, and Tariq Bashir Cheema attended the meeting. However, two members of the government’s nominated team – Anusha Rehman Khan and Akram Khan Durrani – did not attend the first meeting.

Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq and Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Khursheed Shah moderated the meeting while Law Minister Hamid attended the meeting as ex-officio member.

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“Both sides will sit together to formulate agreeable joint ToRs not through a majority vote but through consensus,” said Ahsan, while talking to the media after the meeting.

He said the opposition would strive for drafting ToRs providing for an inquiry into Panamagate scandal first. “Government’s suggested ToRs cover inquiry into other related issues. It’s to see what will be finalised,” he said.

To a question, Ahsan said the committee may with consensus decide to initiate investigations through any forum other than an inquiry panel headed by the chief justice of Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2016.