ISLAMABAD: Opposition leader in National Assembly Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah on Wednesday said the opposition had framed the terms of reference (ToRs) for the judicial commission on the Panama leaks with consensus and contacted various political parties to send them to the prime minister.
Shah, senior leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), said that it was government’s responsibility to write to the Supreme Court to look into the Panama leaks. The opposition would not write a letter to the Supreme Court, he said. Shah telephoned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Balochistan National Party leader Israrullah Zehri, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi of the Pakistan Muslim League, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and others.
He said the prime minister should not get emotional because international institutions rather than the Pakistani opposition raised the Panama leaks issue. “Nawaz Sharif should not get emotional and he should show restraint. Premiers of two countries have resigned over Panama Papers leaks and the third PM is on the way to resign. The international institutions raised the Panama leaks issue and opposition is not behind it. A fair and transparent investigation into this matter will bring the real picture to light,” he said.
He went on to say that investigation should be held into the charges against all people named by the Panama Papers, including PPP Senator Rehman Malik. Malik has refuted the allegations. He said the prime minister used derogatory remarks about the opposition at political gatherings.
PPP leader Aitzaz Ahsan urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to accept the ToRs framed by the opposition parties for the judicial commission if he is innocent. He said that opposition parties had agreed that accountability should be started from the prime minister since his sons have confessed to investing billions of rupees in offshore holdings. He urged Sharif to inform the public of his savings and tax returns dating back to the time when he was the Punjab chief minister. Rejecting opposition’s ToRs would mean escaping from the investigation, he said.
