Making an interesting demand of taking action against all those named in Panama and Dubai leaks, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf ‘s (PTI) leader Asad Umar said that beneficiaries of offshore companies listed in Panama papers should also be tried like Sharif family. Why the 400 people named in Panamagate are not being tried in the same way the Sharif family is facing probe, he questioned the government during a meeting of National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Friday.
The committee’s meeting chaired by its chairman Qaisar Ahmed Sheikh was also attended by Talal Chaudhry, Mohsin Shahnawaz, Rana Afzal, Abdul Rashid Godil, Mian Abdul Manan, Naveed Qamar and other members. Besides, chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and officials from State Bank of Pakistan, ministry of commerce and others were also present.
Showing his anger over the deliberate ignorance on the part of government, Asad Umar said that the issue of Dubai leaks which involved over Rs 800 billion has been raised at the standing committee for six times but all in vain since the government is not interested in probing the real estate investments by Pakistanis in Dubai. “I have written letters to various departments to know whether SBP, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) or any other agency had investigated and produced a report on the large sums invested by Pakistanis in Dubai.
“Even as the country continues to take more and more foreign debt at a record pace, there are regular reports in the media about Dubai land records revealing billions of dollars being invested by Pakistanis in the Dubai property market. It is needless to say such investments serve no national purpose,” he said.
He also questioned why the subject was not part of minutes of the meeting of finance committee. The PTI leader said almost 15 months have been passed after the Panamagate surfaced but no action was taken against the other beneficiaries except Sharif family.
Commenting on the issue Chairman of the committee Qaisar Ahmed Shiekh said that the issues raised in the meeting should be part of minutes of the committee’s next meeting.
Asad Umar also criticized the government for not suspending/terminating jobs of chairman Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and president of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) for their alleged role in forgery of record and money laundering. “Though the Ministry of Interior, through FIA has proposed action against the SECP chairman, the ministry of finance is reluctant to suspend the accused,” he said. Rejecting the impression, Talal Chaudhary said that Asad should avoid selective attack on ministries.
During the meeting the members also asked Chairman FBR Tariq Pasha, about the fresh data of revenue target asking if there was something wrong regarding the revenue collection. Chairman FBR Tariq Pasha claimed that data of revenue collection during the past financial year (2016-17) will be available by July 17 after reconciliation of data from SBP, FBR and PBS.
During the meeting the committee also approved proposals made by Sajida begum for facilitating the disabled in micro-finance institutions. She complained that the private banks were not extending due support to disabled. SBP representative said there was a scheme under which special persons were being given financial support with meager interests of only 6 per cent.
Disusing the issue of currency devaluation which caused huge losses to the country, Asad Umar demanded an inquiry into the development, which was supported by the members of the committee. The committee will seek briefing from ministry of finance and SBP regarding the unfortunate development in the next meeting.