ISLAMABAD: After his family named in Panama leaks, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has lost the constitutional, legal and moral justification to appoint an inquiry commission to investigate the scandal, former information minister Muhammad Ali Durrani told a press conference on Friday. The former minister said now only parliament had the right and responsibility to appoint an inquiry commission to bring forth the truth about all Pakistanis, including the Sharif family, named in the Panama leaks. “Now, this is the right and responsibility of parliament, which is constitutionally a supreme institution, to unanimously appoint an inquiry commission and determine its terms of reference (TORs) in a joint session for ascertaining the truth regarding Pakistanis named in the Panama leaks,” Durrani said. He argued that if parliament can unanimously adopt the constitution of 1973, 18th Amendment and the national action plan, why it cannot take a unanimous decision regarding those facing the charge of ‘economic terrorism’ to bring the looted national wealth back to the country and stop once and for all the loot and plunder of the national exchequer. “The parliament has a golden and historic opportunity to discharge its responsibility as the custodian of the constitution and law to rid the country of political, constitutional and legal crises,” he said. “This will restore the public confidence in parliament and democracy,” he maintained. Durrani said in accordance with the aspirations of the public, parliament must rise against the looters and the plunderers, who were responsible for the poverty and sense of deprivation among people of the country. He said it was test for parliament as well as politicians. Durrani said that parliament should also add the dismantling of hideouts of ‘economic terrorists’ to the objectives of Zarb-e-Azab besides the ongoing operation against terrorism under the national action plan. “Entangling the public in any political confrontation will amount to diverting the attention from recovery of the looted wealth. Now is the time to forge unity against the looters,” the former minister said. “Ten years after the signing of a charter of democracy in London in 2006, need is being felt that Nawaz Sharif now sign an anti-corruption charter while sitting in his Park Lane flat in London,” he said. The former minister said that he was struggling since 2011 to bring back over $500 billion of looted money stashed in various hideouts in Western countries. “Today, we have knocked at the door of parliament on behalf of the people of Pakistan,” he said. “God willing, the next phase of this struggle against the corruption will be launched next week in cooperation with global alliance of over 140 countries,” he announced. In this struggle, Durrani said, they will also seek help from over 30 organisations, including the Star Initiative launched under the UN Convention against Corruption 2003, as they are legally bound to help in any such initiative. The former minister thanked Supreme Court Bar Association President Barrister Ali Zafar and renowned legal expert Senator Barrister Ali Saif for joining the anti-corruption movement.