Panama Papers: Seventh meeting of parliamentary committee on TORs ends in vain
PTI suggests Opposition to alienate itself from the committee as deadlock persists
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Seventh meeting of the parliamentary committee has ended without any progress regarding Terms of References as deadlock persists between the government and the joint opposition over Panama leaks probe, reported Friday.
While talking to the media at the Parliament House after the meeting, Leader of the Opposition in Senate, Aitzaz Ahsan informed that next session of the committee will convene on Tuesday at 3pm.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the government wants to ‘save’ the premier and his family in probe over Panama leaks. He said that it was in vain to attend any further meetings of the committee.
Representing PTI, Qureshi said that the party was disappointed with the committee. He alleged the government of attempting to waste time through the time adding that he would discuss the issue with the party leader, Imran Khan.
He has told other opposition parties about his stance regarding not attending committee’s meetings anymore, Qureshi said.
However, Awami National Party’s Ilyas Bilour opposed Qureshi on this and said that his party would make its representation sure whether other parties do or not.
ANP would not take dictation from anyone although Qureshi has the right to give his opinion, Bilour cleared.
A parliamentary committee was formed with six members each from the government and opposition to strike consensus over Terms of References for probe into alleged tax evasion and wealth stashing by premier and family using offshore companies.
Establishment of shell companies are generally believed to be a way to avoid taxes on any transaction, be it buying a flat or anything else.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Safdar and sons were named in the study monitored by International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Opposition parties, mainly Imran Khan from Tehreek-e-Insaf called for premier’s resignation stating that he had lost moral authority to lead the nation. The Prime Minister, currently in London after his open-heart surgery, claimed his and family’s innocence in a speech in the Parliament and offered to form a committee comprising of parliamentary members to take the issue towards resolution.
Khurshid Shah, Leader of the Opposition accepted premier’s offer and called off the boycott of National Assembly and the Senate that was being observed at the time over Nawaz Sharif’s absence from sessions.
Reports of a heated argument taking place between Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) member Tahir Bashir Cheema during the meeting were also received.
Saad Rafique stated that attempts are being made to malign the politicians to which Cheema replied that accountability should be carried out against the bad fishes who have spoiled the whole pond.
Khawaja Saad warned Cheema that, according to his statement, the past president and many others will be curtailed in the accountability process whereas Cheema in reply stated that accountability should be done against all indiscriminately.
PML-N leader said that the fight for democracy needs to be fought together. As a reply, Cheema said that nothing is going to happen to democracy, further adding that “the government is confused over the Panama (Leaks) commission”.
Other leaders had to intervene as the argument between Saad Rafique and Cheema was getting intensified as a result of which both members of the commission embraced one another at the end of the meeting.
