ISLAMABAD - Top opposition parties yesterday fell short of unanimously demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s resignation over the Panama leaks scandal but agreed to hold the Sharif family accountable before anybody else.
Nine opposition parties – led by the Pakistan People’s Party and the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf – maintained Prime Minister Sharif had failed to perform its moral obligations on Panama papers.
The PTI, the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Awami Muslim League felt fair investigation was not possible with Nawaz Sharif as the PM. They demanded his resignation for a just process.
After a lengthy meeting at the residence of PPP stalwart Aitzaz Ahsan, the opposition parties dismissed as “unacceptable” the government’s Terms of Reference (TORs) regarding probe into Panama leaks, demanding the TOR should be prepared in consultation with opposition parties.
A joint statement read by PPP secretary information Qamar Zaman Kaira in the presence of other parties’ leaders, said, “Investigations must begin from the prime minister and his family. After the prime minister, all other Pakistanis named in Panama papers should be investigated.”
The parties called for the establishment of a judicial commission to investigate leaks, which put spotlight on offshore holdings of Prime Minister Sharif’s family and other Pakistanis.
Briefing the journalists, Kaira said the opposition parties constituted a separate committee of legal experts to develop a consensus on TORs. The committee will meet today (Tuesday) at the same venue here, he added.
“We are unanimous that everyone should be held accountable. The PM first and the others later. We will play on the front foot but we need to wait a bit,” he added.
To a question about offshore wealth of PTI leader Jahangir Khan Tarin and some PPP leaders, Kaira said: “All of them should face accountability.”
He said PPP, PTI, JI and AML presented their own TORs in the meeting which would be discussed in Tuesday’s meeting.
The leaders of the Awami National Party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam) and the Qaumi Watan Party, and representatives of the Supreme Court bar also attended the meeting hosted by the PPP.
According to sources, the PTI pressed for PM Sharif’s resignation but the PPP-led group believed it would be too harsh at this point. “The PPP wants to wait while PTI and its allies thought the time was over for Nawaz Sharif. There was no unanimity over the resignation,” said a source who attended the meeting.
The opposition parties demand a commission led by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court should be formed and supported by a foreign audit firm to probe.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came under fire when his family’s name appeared in the Panama Papers over allegedly holding undeclared assets abroad. All three of his children were named in the papers for holding off-shore companies. Since that time, opposition parties – especially the PTI - are demanding the premier’s resignation.
Leaked confidential documents spanning over nearly 40 years that spell out the extensive use of tax havens by politicians, world leaders, and celebrities to launder money and evade taxes through one of the most secretive companies the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, has taken the world by storm. Many Pakistanis have also been named in their revelations.
The documents identify many Pakistani business tycoons and politicians including certain members of the ruling Sharif family to have use tax havens to hide their wealth.
Last day, PTI chief Imran Khan urged his party workers to march to Raiwind, in case the prime minister did not resign. PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also put pressure on PM Sharif asking him to quit until the investigations prove him innocent. The MQM has already announced to take to the streets in case the government did not agree to investigate the Panama leaks issue according to the opposition’s demands.
A PPP leader said the parties will succeed in drafting joint TORs for Panama Papers’ investigation. “There will be a combined movement to hold the PM accountable and to bring the issue in the parliament,” he said.
Earlier, the PPP parliamentary committee - formed by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to coordinate with other political parties for a united strategy on Panama leaks – was summoned by the PPP leader here.
Members of the committee who called on Bilawal included Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Khurshid Shah, Naveed Qamar, Aijaz Jakhrani and Senator Saleem Mandviwala. Senator Sherry Rehman and Jameel Soomro also attended the meeting.
Aitzaz and Khurshid apprised PPP chairman on the progress in coordination and consultation with other political parties on Panama leaks affair, said a party statement. Bilawal instructed the committee to consult all political parties in parliament and adopt a united strategy on the issue.
He said a consensus among political parties of opposition is essential for setting up TORs for probe and these TORs must be decided by the parliament. He also directed to submit a report as soon as a consensus strategy is evolved.
Sources said Bilawal allowed the committee to back – if need be – the other parties’ demand for PM’s resignation to put pressure on the government for a fair probe.
“The PPP is not bent upon seeing the back of the premier but if need be, it will support other parties’ demand. The government has little time to satisfy the opposition,” said a senior PPP leader.
He said Asif Ali Zardari wanted to go slow but Bilawal was not ready to give too much time to the prime minister.
Even before the meeting at the residence of Aitzaz Ahsan, the PPP was on contact with other parties, mainly the PTI, to evolve consensus.