ISLAMABAD - The government and the opposition were at each other’s throats yesterday giving a glimpse into what could be in store in the National Assembly later this week when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif faces the berserk rivals over the Panama leaks scandal.

The opposition threw seven questions at the PM to prepare for the Friday’s test but the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz came up with the answers in no time.

This week, Information Minister Pervez Rashid said Prime Minister Sharif will attend the National Assembly session tomorrow (Friday) and answer the questions of the members. This came after the opposition walked out of the house multiple times to protest against the premier’s absence.

Also this week, the second round of the Panama Papers was released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in which names of more Pakistani nationals having offshore companies were revealed.

The second phase of Panama Papers disclosed that Zulfi Bukhari, a close friend of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan and his family members was owner of offshore companies.

The leaks, released last month, claimed 200 people including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s children Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Hassan Nawaz Sharif and Hussain Nawaz Sharif had offshore wealth outside Pakistan.

The opposition parties have demanded a judicial investigation on how the Sharif family acquired the offshore wealth. The Pakistan People’s Party and the PTI have also asked PM to step down.

PM Sharif – currently touring Tajikistan – wrote a letter to the Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali to form the judicial commission to probe the allegations of the Panama Papers but the response is still awaited.

At the onset of Wednesday’s National Assembly session, the combined opposition put forth a questionnaire containing seven questions for Prime Minister Sharif ahead of his appearance in the assembly.

Opposition leader in the Senate Aitzaz Ahsan told the journalists here that the rival parties wanted to facilitate the PM to do his homework before appearing in the house.

“We are making our questions public so that the PM is well prepared when he comes to the assembly,” the PPP stalwart said after a meeting of the opposition bloc.

The seven questions dug into the alleged illegal wealth of the premier and his family.

In the first question, Sharif was asked, “Is this true that PM’s children have shares in Ittefaq Sugar Mills and Chaudhry Sugar Mills? And have they filed tax returns on these?”

The second, third and the fourth questions were about their income particularly from offshore companies, the names of the offshore companies owned by the PM or his family and the total number of these companies, bank accounts and the worth of that property.

The later questions were aimed at getting information about the interest of PM and his family in Mayfair apartments, the Prime Minister’s response on the contradictory statements of Kulsoom Nawaz, Hassan Nawaz Sharif, Hussain Nawaz Sharif and Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.

The seventh question was regarding the property that the PM or his family purchased or sold during 1985 to 2016 and the details of the beneficiaries.

The meeting of the opposition parties – chaired by Aitzaz Ahsan – was attended by PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Jehangir Tareen and Shireen Mazari, Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Barrister Mohammed Saif, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Sahibzada Tariqullah, Awami National Party’s Ilyas Bilour and others.

Aitzaz Ahsan said the opposition and the nation were waiting for the premier’s briefing to the parliament on the Panama leaks. “We have put forth some very innocent questions. Hopefully the PM will come well-prepared and give satisfactory answers,” Ahsan said.

PTI’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the whole nation wanted to know the truth. “If the PM feels he is not guilty, why is he afraid of the accountability process,” he asked.

Other participants of the meeting also pressed the PM to brief the parliament over the scandal.

Separately, PTI chief Imran Khan blasted Prime Minister Sharif for “tax evasion” and said the premier was too unwilling to collect taxes from the elite class.

“Are you in power to do personal business and empty public exchequer,” Khan asked at a public gathering in Bannu.

The PML-N was quick to solve the opposition’s questionnaire within a very short time. Ministers Mohammad Zubair and Abid Sher Ali – backed by cabinet aspirants Daniyal Aziz and Talal Chaudhry – said the opposition was trying to distort facts.

Addressing a joint news conference, the ruling party members lambasted the opposition parties for making the Panama leaks issue a political stunt.

Answering the opposition’s questions, Talal Chaudhry said Hussain Nawaz Sharif had already told he owned the Mayfair flats, located in the United Kingdom, which he purchased after selling a factory in Saudi Arabia.

He said Hassan Nawaz Sharif gave an interview in 1999 regarding the property owned by him and the business he operated, adding the interview of his brother, Hussain Nawaz Sharif, taken during the ongoing year, endorsed Hassan’s statements.

To the third question, Chaudhry said PM Sharif was not named in the al-Taufeeq case. “And no offshore company is operating under the name of PM Nawaz Sharif,” he added.

The fifth question, he said was related to the PM’s income, the property he owns and whether he pays any tax or not, “The answer to these questions is present in the tax returns that were filed in the previous year,” the lawmaker maintained.

He claimed that all taxes, including the one related to property, were paid in accordance with the country’s laws.

To the final question by the opposition, Chaudhry said PM Sharif and all his family members paid taxes according to the law. “If interested, they (opposition members) can check the record,” he said.

Daniyal Aziz said that Imran Khan had yet again shifted from his stance, as he was now demanding investigation by the National Accountability Bureau instead of the purposed judicial commission.

He added the question regarding forensic audit was no longer being raised by the opposition as they were afraid that investigation could also be conducted against PTI leader Aleem Khan, Faisal Vawda and Imran Khan’s sisters.

State Minister Abid Sher Ali said a gang of thieves was attempting to hamper the progress of the country. He said that Aitzaz Ahsan’s wife was on top of the list regarding corruption, adding that the PPP leader cannot even become a councillor and he had no political future.

He said Senator Aitzaz had fetched Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) tender for his wife illegally during the Musharraf regime. He said Aitzaz should tell the nation about the corruption on billions of rupees he committed in the past.

Abid said a new propaganda was being planned prior to the PM’s return from Tajikistan. “The PM is abroad for the betterment of the country. The people have no hopes in Imran Khan and his group,” the minister said. He labelled certain members of the opposition parties as political wolves.