12-member committee to draft TORs for Panama leaks probe

A key meeting between government and the opposition was held to decide on the parliamentary committee to probe Panama Papers leaks. The two sides agreed to form a 12-member committee with six members from either side, however it is yet to be finalized as to who will head the forum.

The joint opposition forwarded names of Aitzaz Ahsan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ilyas Bilour, Aftab Sherpao, Sajizada Tariqullah and Tariq Bashir Cheema to the Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) Ayaz Sadiq.

Talking to media after the meeting, Information Minister Pervez Rasheed said the committee will draft TORs with regard to offshore firms, written off loans and kickbacks.

PTI lawmaker Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the committee will start working after approval by the National Assembly.

The joint opposition did not give MQM representation in the parliamentary committee, to which, MQM legislator Asif Hasnain responded saying opposition members were not agreed with our suggestions.

He said the NA speaker had conveyed a message for the meeting and his party was part of it.

On May 16, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had asked Speaker Ayaz Sadiq to form a parliamentary committee comprising of both treasury and opposition members to reach a consensus on the terms of reference (TORs) of the Panama commission.

In his address with the National Assembly (NA), he had reiterated that his government intends to fairly conduct probe into Panama Papers disclosures.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family are under fire since their names cropped up in major leak of documents from a Panama-based law firm, Mossack Fonseca, that prompted corruption allegations against them.