ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has offered PTI Chairman Imran Khan to pick any of the officers — or indeed a team — of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to investigate accusations related to the offshore companies owned by the family of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other politicians.

Welcoming the interior minister’s offer, the PTI chief immediately put forward the name of Dr Shoaib Suddle, saying that he had adequate experience in tackling white-collar crimes and would be an ideal choice to lead the investigations into the allegations thrown up by the Panama Papers leak.

Speaking to reporters in Kallar Syedan on Saturday afternoon, the interior minister said he was ready for an FIA investigation if Imran Khan so desired. “You name an officer of your choice from the FIA and I will appoint him the inquiry officer,” he remarked.

PTI suggests ‘white-collar crime expert’ Shoaib Suddle lead the Panama Papers investigation

In a statement issued hours after the minister’s remarks, Imran Khan welcomed his offer and proposed the name of retired police officer, Dr Shoaib Suddle.

It is worth noting that Mr Khan, who earlier had insisted on an FIA probe, has nominated someone who is not currently serving in the agency.

Chaudhry Nisar said that with this, “the mud-slinging should stop”. He regretted that those who spoke of the Panama Papers omitted mentioning their own leaders, adding that even his predecessor – without naming Rehman Malik – was also named in the leak.

He said the proposed judicial commission should be empowered if its purpose was to bring forth the facts. He formally confirmed that two former chief justices, who were approached to head the judicial commission, have declined to do so after the issue became politicised. He said that contacts were underway and appeared hopeful that the government would take a decision within a few days.

He ruled out the possibility of allowing the PTI chief to address the nation via state-run PTV, saying that he did not have the prerogative to do so. He said it was a globally-accepted practice that the president and prime minister could address the nation, but not the opposition leader, adding that Imran Khan was not even the opposition leader in parliament.

He pointed out that when he was leader of the opposition, he kept complaining against the media blackout on PTV, but to no avail.

The minister also said that no political gatherings would be allowed at either the D-Chowk or in F-9 park in Islamabad, declaring that there was a temporary ban on political gatherings in the federal capital.

Khawar Ghumman adds: But in a statement issued after the interior minister’s presser, PTI spokesperson Naeemul Haq contended that the party’s 20th foundation day would be celebrated in the Fatima Jinnah Park in Islamabad’s F-9 sector and that it would be a peaceful gathering.The statement regretted that the government had tried to create a rubberstamp commission to fool the people, and called on the Election Commission to immediately disqualify everyone who was found to have offshore assets.

Dr Shoaib Suddle is no stranger to controversy or judicial commissions. In 2012, he led the commission tasked to investigate allegations of a Rs342 million business deal between Arsalan Iftikhar, son of then chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, and property tycoon Malik Riaz.

He has earlier served as the director general of the Intelligence Bureau, and was appointed by the PPP government of Yousuf Raza Gilani in 2008, but sacked the following year. Dr Suddle, who was a deputy inspector general in the Sindh police at the time of Murtaza Bhutto’s death, was acquitted of involvement in his murder by a sessions court in 2009.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2016