ISLAMABAD: The 12-member bipartisan parliamentary committee assigned to formulate terms of reference (ToR) for the proposed Panama Papers commission seemed to have hit a dead end on Friday as both sides not only refused to budge from their positions on the issue of offshore companies but also accused each other of toughening their stance.

While the opposition insists on starting the Panamagate probe from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his three children, the government side wants to enact a law that would extend the scope of investigations but would not make any reference to the premier.

After the seventh sitting held here at the Parliament House on Friday, the two sides agreed to meet again on Tuesday but expressed little hope for finding common ground to resolve the issue.

Both government and opposition stick to their positions

Tariq Bashir Cheema, who represents the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid on the opposition side, said: “I think the next meeting of the committee will be the last one because the government is in no mood of conducting the Panama Papers inquiry.”

Talking to Dawn, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that he was ‘utterly disappointed’ with the government’s attitude because it had returned to its initial stance. “If the government continues with the similar position, it’s just a matter of wasting time to sit on this committee,” he said.

In reply to a question, Mr Qureshi said he would brief the PTI leadership about the situation and it was up to them whether or not to continue with the talks.

“At least for me, the two sides at the moment are poles apart and I don’t see any headway taking place,” he said.

About the new law which the government proposed during the meeting, Mr Qureshi said it was a repetition of the 1956 Act and had nothing new in it.

“Earlier, the opposition had accepted all the four ToR of the government with a little amendment in one of them, and today they [government] just reverted to its old stand,” Mr Qureshi claimed.

Talking to journalists outside the Parliament House, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq said the government genuinely wanted accountability of all those whose names had appeared in the Panama Papers, including loan defaulters and those who faced charges of receiving kickbacks and commission.

However, he added, every argument of the opposition revolved around the prime minister despite the fact that he had nothing to do with the Panama Papers. Three children of the prime minister are willing to appear before the proposed commission for investigation and justify setting up of offshore companies, he said.

Speaking alongside Mr Rafiq, Ports and Shipping Minister Hasil Bizenjo criticised the opposition members for speaking to media and heaping blame on the government for lack of progress in talks and said it showed their ill intentions.

Mr Bizenjo said the government was all for resolving the issue of the Panama Papers amicably, but the way the opposition was reacting had made this task difficult.

In background discussions, a legal adviser to the government told Dawn that “during Friday’s meeting we offered ToR-wise responses to the opposition”, highlighting how its stand had only toughened since the committee started its meetings on May 25.

About the new law, the adviser said, “We have covered all aspects of money laundering, offshore companies, kickbacks, commissions, etc.”

He said that, if accepted, the proposed commission would be as powerful as the election inquiry commission was in terms of using state resources for conducting investigations.

However, he added, unfortunately the opposition was only targeting the prime minister which of course wasn’t acceptable to the government.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2016