Opp fails to reach consensus on PM’s resignation

• Seven out of 9 Opp parties agree on the demand for resignation but QWP and ANP hold out
• Govt mulls proposal to summon NA session next week, get its own TORs approved

The opposition parties on Monday unanimously called for probing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif first for having offshore companies, although a consensus proved evasive on the joint declaration and the terms of reference (TORs) for the investigating commission.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also held consultations with his close aides to discuss the demands of the opposition.

A source in the federal government told Pakistan Today that the PML-N is happy to see a demand coming from the opposition camp asking the PM to submit details of his assets in the parliament.

“We are mulling a proposal to convene a National Assembly session next week. The prime minister may address the assembly and present his case there,” the source said.

The source added that the government may also submit the TORs it had sent to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Anwar Zaheer Jamali and may get a nod from the National Assembly where the ruling party and its allies have a sizeable majority.

PRESSURE BUILDS BUT THERE ARE HOLDOUTS:

A well-placed source who attended the opposition parties’ meeting told Pakistan Today that during the meeting, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) made efforts to convince all the political parties to agree to their demands, especially the one seeking the resignation of the prime minister before the judicial commission commences its proceedings. The source added that six parties agreed to their proposal while Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM), Awami National Party (ANP) and Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) did not agree to the demand.

“After repeated efforts, the MQM agreed to the demand but the ANP and the QWP did not agree,” the source said and added that finally, the demand was excluded from the joint declaration.

“It was then decided to postpone the meeting until Tuesday morning at 11 am so that they can take another stab at reaching a consensus,” the source added.

SOME AGREEMENT ON TORS:

The source said that majority of the parties agreed to most of the TORs drafted by the PTI and the PPP while Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) also tabled their proposals.

“Majority of the TORs were almost the same but some parties had added their own proposals which needed thorough deliberations,” the source added.

After the meeting, PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira and PTI’s Shah Mahmood Qureshi briefed the media on the joint communiqué. PTI’s Qureshi looked unhappy and did not contribute much to the press briefing.

Kaira said that PM has failed to fulfill his responsibilities regarding the Panama Papers allegations made against members of his family.

He said all the opposition parties had unanimously rejected the TORs for the commission framed by the government.

“As many as 9 parties from opposition met today. A committee has been formed to finalise the TORs. We have reviewed drafts submitted by various parties and will continue to discuss various proposals tomorrow,” he said.

Kaira added that the opposition did not want to try the prime minister and his family alone.

THE DEMANDS:

“Everyone [named in Panama Papers] should be held accountable, but the process of accountability should start from the PM and his family,” he added.

During the meeting, Aitzaz Ahsan submitted a joint declaration containing demands from the opposition, including the resignation of the prime minister before the start of the enquiry.

The parties agreed to the demand that the judicial commission should be headed by the CJP and the probe should be completed in four to six weeks.

“Parliamentary protection should be provided to the new TORs for the commission and a new law should be enacted to ensure a more effective commission,” the source added.

The commission should also engage an international firm for the forensic audit of the prime minister’s assets, the source said, and added that the PPP’s support to PTI’s demand for the prime minister’s resignation took many by surprise.

“The PPP also wants a parliamentary committee besides the judicial commission. They want Nawaz Sharif to submit all the details of his family’s financial transactions abroad since 1985.”

The committee framed to finalise the TORs included PPP’s Aitzaz Ahsan, PTI’s Hamid Khan advocate, Asadullah Bhutto from JI, Sheikh Rashid from AML, Anisazeb Tahirkheli from QWP, Mushahid Hussain from PML-Q, Israrullah Zehri from BNP-Awami, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqi from MQM and Mian Iftikhar Hussain from ANP‎.