Moving beyond rhetoric
The Prime Minister’s third address in a month to the nation was no different from the earlier ones. He spent most of the time in underlining the patriotism of his family and recounting the sufferings he and his family had to undergo during the Bhutto regime and the Musharraf era. He railed at three political parties demanding a transparent enquiry without mentioning their names, PMLQ, PTI and PPP. He reminded the media of the need to stop leveling unfounded charges against him. In the last thirty seconds of the address Nawaz Sharif announced what everybody had been waiting to hear. He was writing, he said, to the CJ to appoint a commission to probe the issues connected with the Panama leaks. Thus the PM at last agreed to what the opposition had been demanding all along. Many think the matter required only a statement from the government instead of an address by the PM which is delivered when making vital policy announcements
While hearing another case earlier, the CJ had put forth a rhetorical question: Is the appointment of the commission the job of the judiciary or of the executive branch which commands all the institutions? It remains to be seen how the CJ responds to the proposal which now enjoys public support as is brought out by the unanimity on the demand displayed by all major political parties. Will the CJ personally supervise the probe? Will he hand it over to a commission of his choice? Or will he set up a national task force on the lines suggested by the SCBA? And who will formulate the TORs, the government, the opposition, or the CJ?
There is no unanimity of views among the opposition regarding who is to conduct the probe if the CJ excuses himself. The PPP has suggested a parliamentary committee headed by an opposition member to act as the enquiry commission. The PTI has rejected the proposal without offering an alternative. The matter thus will have to be referred to Parliament.