April 2016 has been quite an eventful month when it comes to the issue of the Panama Papers. The leakage of these papers during the first week of the month has created a huge political storm in Pakistan that refuses to die down. Some 200 Pakistanis are under the radar for their alleged involvement in corruption through operating of offshore companies that were. Allegedly, an additional 200 Pakistanis may be on the list when the next installment of the Panama Papers is ‘released’ on May 9, 2016, the contents of which may cause more ripples in the power corridors of not only Pakistan but other states as well.Since the eruption of this controversy, the role of the opposition parties within Pakistan has been confrontational and aggressive, with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leading from the front. The Terms of References (ToRs) announced by Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif has led to further political uncertainty for all major opposition parties, including the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP); most of them have refused to accept them given the vagueness of certain clauses. The PTI has already convened several meetings on the issue, and has also held a public rally in Islamabad last Sunday. Moreover, the PTI plans to hold another rally in Lahore during this weekend and then an All Parties Conference (APC) type meeting with leaders of other opposition parties on May 2, 2016. Plans for the much talked about Raiwind march may also come in place during this time for putting further pressure on Prime Minister Sharif to resign from his seat. As for the PPP, its leaders such as Senator Aitzaz Ahsan and Syed Khurshid Shah have said that the PM should resign on moral grounds if the contents of the Panama Papers prove to be true. Earlier this week, a major private media group’s affiliated newspaper claimed that the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the organisation responsible for leaking the Panama Papers, has apparently apologised for mentioning PM Sharif’s name in the papers citing ‘editing errors’. When several Pakistani journalists and activists sought clarification on this story from the ICIJ, the organisation denied the story, and stated that it stands by its stance on PM Sharif being indirectly involved in his children’s offshore companies. If the ICIJ’s claims are valid, government has allegedly planted a fake story through a certain media group for mitigating pressure on the PM. This shall give the opposition parties, especially the PTI, a much-needed boost in their demand for the PM’s resignation. The media and political advisers of the ruling party seem to be acting in unwise hurry, making one faux pas after the other. The government advertisements placed in all major newspapers ostensibly paid by taxpayers money to clarify the name of the Sharif family of allegations of tax-evasion is one example of government’s lack of sagacity in handling a very sensitive matter. Furthermore, the steps taken by the Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif in curbing corruption from the armed forces have already strengthened the opposition’s morale, forcing the government to be on the back foot at the moment. *