PTI wants PAC meet on Panama Papers

Senate members nomination causing delay in meeting

ISLAMABAD: In an effort to galvanise government agencies into action on the Panamagate scandal, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) fleshed out plans to get the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman into convening a special meeting so it could quiz the revelations.

“I will requisition the meeting of the PAC,” Dr Arif Alvi from the PTI told The Express Tribune here.



Alvi said he had submitted an application on July 15 to PAC head Khursheed Shah of PPP. But even after the passage of two weeks the he has not convened the meeting, he added.

Responding to a question, Alvi, who is also a member of the PAC, said he is confident that he would manage to get the signatures of other members for the requisitioning.

According to the rules, one-fourth members would be required to requisition it.

PAC Joint Secretary Syed Fayaz Hussain Shah told The Express Tribune that institutions pointed out in the letter had been intimated.



He said a meeting would be convened soon after receiving a reply from them.

Sources in the National Assembly told The Express Tribune that it was unlikely to be convened next week because  delay in nominations of members from the Senate.



In July, the Senate had amended its rules to give members of the upper house representation in the PAC. Both the houses have approved the amendments.

In his letter to the PAC Chairman, Alvi had asked to summon the FBR, NAB, SBP, SECP, FIA, the foreign affairs ministry and finance ministry and ask what action had been taken so far.

“I request you that the FBR, NAB, the SBP, SECP, the FIA, the foreign affairs ministry and the finance ministry be summoned urgently and they be asked as to why they have not initiated investigations, or even issued notices to the entire list of Pakistanis that has been published,” the letter said.

He said the deadlock on “ToRs is a political issue and it has nothing to do with these institutions/agencies”, and they should be asked about the efforts they have made so far.



The letter said that the names of 600 Pakistanis, who have offshore companies, were published in the Panama Papers on April 3.

“As a member of the Public Accounts Committee, I am shocked by the fact that I see no effort and no interest on the part of government agencies to probe this issue at all. I believe that some politicians are also involved but in trying to protect them I am afraid that 95% others may also escape scrutiny.”

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