Panama leaks: PTI to use all means including street agitation

LAHORE: With the end of Ramazan, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf is gearing up for its anti-corruption movement to build on the outcry over the Panama Leaks controversy.

Agitation by major Opposition parties over the failure of talks with government to finalise terms of reference (ToRs) for an inquiry commission had been well underway ahead of Ramazan. The PTI had announced plans to revive its country-wide campaign for a probe into the sources of offshore wealth of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s children after the Eid.

On Thursday, the party leadership held a meeting at the Chairman Secretariat to deliberate on the modalities for the campaign. It was chaired by Imran Khan. It decided that the campaign would be undertaken in collaboration with other major Opposition parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Jamaat-i-Islami.

The meeting decided to use all available means including street agitation to counter what it called the government’s policy of delaying the investigation. It decided that the government would be urged to investigate the matter, exhausting all options including a judicial probe.

Speaking after the meeting, Khan announced that the party’s new organisational setup would be finalised by July 20.

Speaking to The Express Tribune on Friday, former PTI Punjab president Ejaz Chaudhry said finalising the restructuring was going to be a challenge. He said the party was planning a country-wide anti-corruption drive. “Consultations over nominations are taking a lot of time. The process is laborious,” he said. However, he said, restructuring could not be delayed further.

Khan had said, earlier in the week, that authority to take a final decision on nominations would rest with him.

The party would name four regional heads in the Punjab.

Chaudhry said the party was considering naming its campaign over Panama Leaks controversy Tehrik-e-Ahtisab (Movement for Accountability).

He said the campaign would be a joint effort of major Opposition parties. “A major difference between this movement and the one against electoral rigging in 2013 is that this time we are not alone. [All parliamentary] Opposition parties are on one side and the government on the other,” he said.

He said Opposition parties would coordinate their efforts.

Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly Mehmoodur Rasheed said joint public gatherings could also be arranged. He said leaders of several Opposition parties could address the public at such gatherings.

He said it would be a country-wide campaign but the special focus would be on central Punjab areas. He said he had extended an invitation to parliamentary leaders of Opposition parties to get together next week and devise a joint strategy for the campaign.

Rasheed said a tentative phase-wise plan included finalisation of party structure in the first phase. A convention of new office holders would be held in Islamabad, he said. He said the party was also considering calling strikes in major cities but that would be a measure of last resort.

The party would finalise its strategy in this regard on Khan’s return from United Kingdom, he added.

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