Two adjournment motions were filed in the National Assembly seeking debate of the house on the recent revelations of offshore assets of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s family members.
The motions came a day after the PM announced formation of a commission to investigate allegations against his family made in the wake of the so-called Panama Leaks.
But major opposition parties of the country outrightly rejected the commission, demanding PM’s resignation.
The two separate motions were filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s Shireen Mazari and Awami Muslim League (AML) Chief Shaikh Rasheed Ahmed.
“This is unacceptable. Who are they to form a commission themselves and then decide its terms of reference? This is a joke,” Shaikh Rasheed Ahmed said while speaking to media.
He called upon the PM to step down.
Shireen Mazari expressed similar views, “Nawaz Sharif is himself a party in the matter. Therefore, he cannot form a commission himself,” she said.
The PTI senior leader sought a debate in the house about the issue.
The leaked papers, comprising 11.5 million documents from the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, exposes how some of the world’s most powerful people have secretly stashed their money in offshore companies and accounts. The leak also implicated Sharif’s sons Hasan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz.
Three of Sharif’s four children are named in the Panama Papers — daughter Maryam, who has been tipped to be his political successor, and sons Hasan and Hussain — with the records showing they owned London real estate through offshore companies administered by Mossack Fonseca.
When the Panama Papers were first released, Sharif’s son Hussain denied the allegations, saying his family had done “nothing wrong”.
Revenue generation is particularly sensitive for Pakistan’s government, which is receiving a $6.6 billion bailout package from the IMF and has a tax-to-GDP ratio of 11 per cent, among the lowest in the world.
As prime minister, Sharif has invited investment in Pakistan. But the latest revelations could raise uncomfortable questions about why his family has kept their wealth abroad.
The Panama Papers have whipped up a storm of controversy over offshore wealth, ensnaring political leaders, sports figures and underworld members across the globe in the scandal.