ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The nine-party opposition on Tuesday agreed upon 15 Terms of Reference (TORs) for carrying out an investigation into Panama Papers revelations under which it demanded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family be probed first.
In a meeting held in Islamabad on Tuesday, the opposition rejected the TORs prepared by the federal government for the proposed commission to investigate Panama leaks.
However, the opposition could not develop a consensus over the issue of Nawaz Sharif’s resignation as the prime minister. The Awami National Party (ANP) and Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) didn’t support the idea of seeking resignation from Nawaz Sharif.
Talking to media after the meeting, the Leader of the Opposition in Senate Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan said that few parties were of opinion that it was not appropriate time to demand the prime minister’s resignation.
Aitzaz Ahsan, however, said all the parties had agreed that the accountability process and investigation into Panama Papers should be started from the prime minster and his family.
The opposition leader said that the investigation would be carried out about the purchase of assets abroad, source and mode of transfer of funds for the purpose as well as the taxes paid each year.
Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan said that special legislation for Panama Papers Investigation and Trial Act should be made under which commission headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan be constituted to probe the matter in three months.
Under the TORs, once the investigation into allegations against the prime minister and his family is completed, the commission would also probe over 200 other Pakistanis named in the Panama Papers.
