Top judge says no to govt’s ToRs for Panama probe commission

• Chief Justice Jamali refuses to form judicial commission in line with govt’s ‘wide and open ToRs’, says ‘toothless’ commission will ‘take years’ to conclude proceedings
• Tells govt to consider new legislation to empower commission after which modalities will be decided for enquiry
• Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid says CJP’s refusal to form commission is ‘natural reaction in wake of baseless propaganda by opposition parties’

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Anwar Zaheer Jamali on Friday rebuffed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s request for formation of a judicial commission to probe the allegations levelled in Panama Papers against around 230 Pakistanis, observing that the proposed Terms of Reference (ToRs) were aimed at formation of a “toothless” commission.

Political and legal observers see this development as a major blow to the prime minister’s efforts to dodge the demands of opposition parties for an immediate investigation into the leaks which have blamed the children of the premier for tax evasion, money laundering and owning offshore companies and properties abroad without showing the same in their assets’ details.

In a rejoinder to the letter forwarded by the Ministry of Law & Justice secretary, the CJP observed that the ToRs sent by the government were aimed at formation of a “toothless judicial commission” to probe the Panama Papers revelations.

“The formation of a commission under the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry Act, 1956 (Act VI of 1956), looking to its limited scope will result in the constitution of a toothless commission, which will serve no useful purpose,” detailed the letter by the CJP.

The government had last month sent a letter to the Supreme Court registrar, requesting the chief justice to constitute a high-level judicial commission to investigate the veracity of the allegations against the premier and his family and all other Pakistanis named in the Panama Papers revelations. Justice Jamali, however, did not respond to the government letter till Friday due to his visit to Turkey and other judicial engagements.

The top judge of the country observed that the ToRs of the proposed commission were too “wide and open”, adding that the probe commission with the proposed ToRs might “take years” to conclude proceedings.

The letter also stated that “before forming an opinion as to the formation of the inquiry commission, it is necessary to have the list of all individuals, families, groups, companies… along with some relevant particulars, against whom purported inquiry proceedings are to be held.”

The Supreme Court also asked the government to reconsider new legislation to empower the probe commission, saying that new laws might be enacted for a meaningful commission and “reconsider and resolve the issue of formation of the commission under proper legislation” after which the CJP would decide on the modalities of the inquiry commission.

GOVT LAMBASTS OPP FOR CJP’S RESFUSAL TO FORM COMMISSION:

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Pervaiz Rashid was quick to respond to the news, saying the Law Ministry was examining the rejoinder by the CJP.

The minister, while talking to media, advised the opposition not to turn a legal matter into a political gimmick. “The formation of a judicial commission is purely a legal matter. The opposition should not confuse this matter with political gimmicks,” he said, adding that the government would come out clean after the commission was formed.

Blaming the opposition parties for being confused and divided over the Panama probe commission, Rashid said the opposition always kept changing its goalpost to confuse the public. He advised the opposition to get rid of its “stubborn attitude” and move towards a practical solution of the issue.

Rashid said the apex court’s refusal was a natural reaction in wake of the baseless propaganda by the opposition parties. Reiterating the government’s offer for having a dialogue over the ToRs for the commission, Rashid said the government was always ready but the stubborn attitude of some opposition leaders had led to this “situation”.

OPP STAGES WALKOUT FROM NA OVER PM’S ABSENCE:

Earlier in the day, opposition members staged a walkout from the National Assembly for the fifth day in protest against PM Nawaz’s continuous absence from the House.

PPP’s Naveed Qamar stated that opposition lawmakers won’t sit in parliament until the prime minister responded to their questions. Nevertheless, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq had to adjourn the session for want of quorum.

Meanwhile, a joint meeting of opposition parties took place at Parliament House. Presided over by Aitzaz Ahsan, leader of opposition in Senate, the meeting was attended by members of the PPP, PTI, PML-Q, AML and other opposition parties. The meeting decided to boycott National Assembly and Senate proceedings until PM Nawaz arrived in the House.

Talking to reporters, Aitzaz said that PM Sharif was unaware of parliamentary norms and traditions. “We will not cross-examine the premier over his statement in parliament,” he said.

Aitzaz also recalled that former prime ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Parvez Ashraf regularly attended parliament sessions during PPP’s rule.

Earlier on Thursday, PM Sharif postponed his visit to the National Assembly till Monday where he was expected to respond to questions raised by the opposition during the session on Friday.

Talking informally to media, NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said that arrangements had been made with the opposition about PM’s address. He said the opposition had assured him of keeping the environment peaceful during PM’s address. He said he had also consulted with the ministers in this respect.

The opposition had demanded Prime Minister Sharif take the House into confidence over the Panama leaks issue.

It may be mentioned here that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had announced to probe into the revelations contained in the Panama Papers, which claim his children owned London property through an offshore company.

Sharif bowed to opposition demands for a Supreme Court appointed inquiry commission and said he would resign if it found wrongdoing.

In this regard, the government wrote a letter to the Supreme Court Chief Justice to form a commission, however, the process has lingered on due to deadlock between government and the opposition parties regarding terms of references (ToRs) for the commission.