PM Nawaz tells Dar to take all parties on board for formation of ‘credible’ enquiry commission, also discuss expanding enquiry to foreign funding of PTI
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday expressed satisfaction over the consultations held by his cabinet members with various opposition parties for evolving consensus on the probe into the allegations stemming from the leak of the Panama Papers.
A well-placed source in the federal cabinet told Pakistan Today that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar called Prime Minister Nawaz and gave a detailed briefing on the contacts made with retired judges, political parties and the leadership of the legal fraternity.
However, official spokesman of Prime Minister’s House Muhayuddin Wani said no meeting had been held between the two even though news of the meeting was reported by all news wires and private channels.
“During the meeting, prime minister expressed satisfaction over his team’s preparations for the commission’s formation. He directed Senator Dar to take all opposition leaders into confidence and remove their reservations about the commission’s formation. He also said that the commission should be independent and the terms of reference (TORs) for the commission should be credible,” the source added.
The source said that the finance minister also briefed the PM on the proposed TORs. He told the PM that the TORs would be finalised once the government receives proposals from the Pakistan Bar Council and the opposition parties.
The source quoted the PM as telling Senator Dar that the TORs for the commission should be framed with the objective of removing the apprehensions of all the stakeholders about the authority of the commission.
“The prime minister also discussed with Senator Dar the possibility of expanding the commission’s purview to the financial irregularities of some opposition leaders. Both leaders also discussed the foreign funding being made to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI),” the source added.
The source said that Ishaq Dar on Wednesday held telephonic conversation with leader of the opposition Syed Khursheed Shah. Dar had also phoned PTI leader Jahangir Khan Tareen the other day to discuss PTI’s apprehensions and suggestions. He also met with a delegation of the PTI leaders who made it clear that they would not accept anything less than a CJP-led judicial commission.
DAR PHONES SHAH:
According to the PTI and PPP leaders, Dar was told the unanimous demand of both opposition parties that the prime minister must write a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) requesting him to form a high-powered judicial commission to probe the Panama Leaks. Both opposition leaders also conveyed to Senator Dar that the judicial commission should be supported by a team of international forensic experts to conduct investigation into the financial transactions.
Khursheed Shah told media that he had informed Dar that if the CJP refuses to form a commission, then the government should form a parliamentary committee to probe the Panama Papers.
Meanwhile, PTI chief Imran Khan told media personnel that all opposition parties were unanimously calling for a judicial commission led by the CJP.
Asked why he did not agree with PPP’s proposal to form a parliamentary committee, Khan asked what good the parliamentary committees had done in the past.
“We are clear in our demand. We want a CJP-led commission to probe the matter,” Khan added.
PPP, PTI DRAFTING OWN TORs:
PTI Information Secretary Naeemul Haq told Pakistan Today that the PPP and PTI were separately working on drafting their own TORs for the judicial commission to conduct a probe into the Panama Papers.
“Once both parties finalise their own proposals about TORs, they would hold discussions to evolve a consensus,” he added.
Meanwhile, Khursheed Shah also phoned Muttahida Qaumi Movement parliamentary leader Dr Farooq Sattar and decided to meet him today (Thursday) to reach a consensus on the Panama Papers probe. Shah is also set to meet Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid leader Chaudhry Pervez Elahi.