ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his legal and political aides yesterday agreed to rope in opposition parties in negotiations to draft mutually acceptable terms of reference (ToRs) for the proposed judicial commission to probe the Panama leaks.
Sources, aware of the deliberations of a PM House meeting spawning several hours, informed The Nation that the prime minister directed Law Minister Zahid Hamid to contact Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah to formally send the opposition’s prepared ToRs to the government.
After the meeting, the law minister contacted Khursheed Shah on telephone and conveyed him the prime minister’s message. He would formally write to the opposition leader most likely today (Thursday) after consulting all the opposition parties which had given their input in the formation of ToRs.
Earlier, at the PM House meeting, it was also decided that a committee under the head of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar be constituted to hold talks with the opposition parties to satisfy them on the government framed ToRs, which have already been sent to the Chief Justice of Pakistan along with the request from the prime minister for formation of a judicial commission.
PML-N sources said the committee would comprise Law Minister Zahid Hamid, State Minister for Information Technology Ms Anusha Rehman, Adviser to PM on Law and Justice Barrister Zafarullah, Railways Minister Khwaja Saad Rafique and Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed.
Dar had also headed the government team which successfully finalised terms of reference with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf for the judicial commission to probe the rigging allegations in 2013 general elections.
Sources informed that the government meeting also discussed other options and possibilities to tackle the issue in case the matter the CJP refuses to form a commission and the matter eventually comes to the parliament.
During the meeting, Law Minister Zahid Hamid said that the ToRs prepared by the opposition parties were Prime Minister specific and the opposition seemed least interested in tracing out the corruption done through misuse of powers and getting loans written off in the past; they just wanted investigation of Sharif family’s financial affairs.
Addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Nawaz Shairf said that even though there was no offshore company registered in his name, he presented him and his family for accountability soon after the revelations of Panama leaks pointing out some offshore companies lawfully owned by his sons.
He said he announced formation of a commission under a retired judge of the Supreme Court. At that time even there was no demand of probe into the matter from any quarter, he claimed.
Later honouring the demand of opposition parties, he wrote to CJP to form a commission comprising sitting judges of the apex court but as the opposition parties were trying to make issue out of it, they came up with objection on the commission ToRs which were quite comprehensive and all encompassing, the PM added.
Sources in the party said that some of the meeting participants suggested that government should not be more lenient to opposition and should deal the matter sternly but sanity prevailed and the prime minister, after taking input from all the participants including the legal opinion of law minister and his adviser on law, decided to rope in opposition in negotiations and incorporate the valid and prudent points in the ToRs prepared by the opposition parties.