ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi suggested on Friday the opposition’s members should part ways with the special committee constituted for drafting Term of References (TORs) to probe into Panama leaks.

“Government is not sincere in drafting balance TORs so I have suggested the opposition parties to leave the committee,” said Qureshi after a meeting of the TORs Committee held in Parliament House on Friday.

Qureshi added the deadlock over the TORs has persisted and there is no breakthrough.

“Government is not sincere in accountability of those named in Panama Leaks including family members of the prime minister,” Qureshi stated.

The PTI Leader said under the present circumstances it was impossible for him to continue as member of the committee. He added the he will also advise his party to part ways from the committee because it is a useless exercise.

He added the government members responsible for not reaching a consensus on the TORs and the situation has worsened after today’s meeting.

However, government members held the opposition members responsible for the deadlock.

“We will not accept such draft of TORs which is aimed to target only Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,” Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said.

He added all the suggestions from the opposition “started from Nawaz Sharif and ended at Nawaz Sharif which is not fair.”

“Government has shown tolerance and flexibility over the issue which should be realised and capitalised by the opposition,” the railways minister said.

What the Panama Papers reveal about Sharif family

The data from the Panama Papers, available on the website of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists — one of around 100 news organisations and 300 journalists that worked on mining the data simultaneously — also reveals the offshore holdings of members of Prime Minister Sharif’s family.

Maryam is described as “the owner of British Virgin Islands-based firms Nielsen Enterprises Limited and Nescoll Limited, incorporated in 1994 and 1993”.

On one of the documents released by ICIJ, the address listed for Nielsen Enterprises is Saroor Palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The document, dated June 2012, describes Maryam Nawaz as the ‘beneficial owner’.

According to ICIJ, “Hussain and Maryam signed a document dated June 2007 that was part of a series of transactions in which Deutsche Bank Geneva lent up to $13.8 million to Nescoll, Nielsen and another company, with their London properties as collateral.”

In July 2014, the two companies were transferred to another agent.

Hasan Nawaz Sharif is described as “the sole director of Hangon Property Holdings Limited incorporated in the British Virgin Islands in February 2007, which acquired Liberia-based firm Cascon Holdings Establishment Limited for about $11.2 million in August 2007”.

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.