K-P Assembly resolution: Centre urged to launch Panama Papers probe

House continues debate on alleged removal of western route from CPEC for second consecutive day

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly adopted on Wednesday a resolution calling upon the federal government for starting a judicial inquiry into the information gleaned from Panama Papers.

The resolution was jointly moved by Shaukat Yousufzai of PTI, Sikandar Sherpao of Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) and Muhammad Ali Shah of PPP which was subsequently adopted by the house with a majority vote.

Panama Papers, the resolution stated, had created a huge scandal containing names of family members of the Prime Minister which is why political parties of the country were demanding an independent judicial investigation. The probe’s terms of reference (TORs) should be decided with the consent of the opposition, the resolution stated.

Meanwhile, parliamentary leaders of political parties in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly decided to outline a strategy to raise the issue of the alleged removal of the Western Route from China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Speaker Asad Qaiser announced to hold a meeting of the parliamentary leaders on Friday.

The debate on the removal of the western route from CPEC continued for a second consecutive day.

Lawmakers criticized Chief Minister Pervez Khattak for not attending the session on such crucial issue.

Lawmakers of the opposition and treasury benches suggested resigning en masse from the house and staging protest outside the Parliament House in Islamabad for highlighting the issue.

Awami National Party’s (ANP) parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak sought a clarification from the prime minister on ambiguities pertaining to the project. He criticised PTI chief Imran Khan for not voicing the concerns of the people of K-P, who had voted his party to power.

“If Imran Khan wants to return the favour, he must raise this issue and start a protest from Punjab. We will support him if he fights for the rights of the province.”

He said energy projects worth $39 billion included in the CPEC had been shifted to Punjab. He wondered if the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa were there only to offer sacrifices while all development projects were limited to Punjab.

He rejected suggestions for collective resignations of lawmakers and said that the provincial assembly should be used as an appropriate forum.

According to Babak, Kalabagh dam and CPEC were entirely different issues. “Kalabagh dam is a technical matter not political one and the issue is dead now and although we all support CPEC, we need to restore our province’s rights in the mega scheme.”

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Zareen Gul insisted that all assembly members should tender resignations, saying that lawmakers should not sit in the house if they were unable to secure the province’s rights.

PML-N’s parliamentary leader Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha said that he had informed the Federal Minister for Planning and Development, Ahsan Iqbal, about the lawmakers’ reservations.

Nalotha maintained that Iqbal would visit the Governor’s House in Peshawar on October 18 and would meet with parliamentary leaders of political parties to address their concerns.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2016.