Opposition Leader in the Senate Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan has said that the prime minister must resign in the wake of the release of Panama Papers and nominate another leader from his party for the post of the prime minister.
He was talking to Pakistan Today Editor Arif Nizami in his channel 24 programme DNA.
Arif Nizami said during the show that a sitting judge, and not a retired one should head the judicial commission announced by the prime minister.
The programme discussed the situation in the wake of the release of Panama Papers and the possible involvement of the PM’s children in hiding secret wealth. The leaders of 72 countries have been found involved in hiding assets in tax havens through Mossack Fonseca, a Panama based law firm.
“The prime minister will survive this crisis too, and it is not common in Pakistani politics to resign in the aftermath of a controversy,” Nizami said, and added the terms of references (TORs) will be of particular significance in this particular case.
Earlier, PPP leader Aitzaz Ahsan had said that there are dual standards in the Pakistani society and courts when it comes to PP and other political parties such as Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). He said that it was a common practice during the tenure of the then chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry to take a suo motu notice even on small issues if the PPP was involved.
Aitzaz said a parliamentary commission would be a good option in this case to probe the Panama Papers as the leaks are a serious issue. He said that Hussain Nawaz is trying to exonerate himself by saying that a person who spends more than 180 days in a foreign country does not have to pay taxes in his parent country. “But I have concrete evidence that Hussain Nawaz has been a shareholder in the paper mills and sugar mills of the Sharif family. Therefore, he does owe taxes in this country as the business ventures generate income here,” Aitzaz said.
