ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: In a surprise move, the Opposition parties staged a walkout from the National Assembly, claiming that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had failed to answer their seven questions regarding the Panama Papers allegations.
“We couldn’t find answers to our seven questions, and don’t want to waste time of this House,” the Leader of the Opposition Syed Khursheed Shah said in a short speech at the House.
The opposition leader said that the prime minister increased the numbers of questions from seven to 70. He said that they wanted the prime minister to answer seven questions posted by the opposition but the former failed to do so.
Later the opposition parties including the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) walked out from the Parliament.
In a joint opposition press conference outside the Parliament House, Khursheed Shah said that the opposition parties would hold a consultative meeting in Islamabad at 10:00 am on Tuesday and chalk out further strategy.
Earlier addressing the National Assembly, the prime minister suggested to form a joint committee to draft the terms of reference (TORs) for establishing the judicial commission to probe allegations related to Panama Papers revelations.
The prime minister assured the Parliament that the government wanted immediate investigation of the issue of Panama Papers. He said that he himself and his Cabinet colleagues were ready for any accountability process.
Nawaz Sharif asked the Parliament to consider a comprehensive and effective system of accountability as per spirit of Charter of Democracy. He said that the Parliament should review the shortcomings of the existing system of accountability and devise a comprehensive system that has trust of the entire nation.
