Daily Times

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami chief Senator Sirajul Haq on Wednesday said that the government had lost moral grounds to stay in power after the Panama leaks issue.

Talking to the media after the Supreme Court hearing, he said that the ship of the ruling junta had become entangled in the Panama leaks’ mire, while the only way out was through “truthfulness”.

Siraj said that by the grace of God, the case was moving in the right direction. He said that from the very beginning, the JI had called for setting up a commission for enquiry into the Panama leaks. He said the JI wanted accountability of all those mentioned in the leaks, but the process should begin with the prime minister and his family because the premier had admitted that his children owned offshore companies, and had also offered himself for accountability.

He said that after the setting up of the enquiry commission, the premier should stop using executive powers so that he could not influence the proceedings. He said that it was a common practice all over the world. The JI chief said that his party did not believe in any sacred cow, and that accountability should be across the board.

He said that the people contesting the 2013 elections had not disclosed their assets that were later unearthed in the Panama leaks. “If a thorough enquiry is held, a large number of people will be disqualified under articles 62 and 63 of the constitution,” he added.

Siraj said that had the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) done its duty, the present situation would not have emerged. He said that NAB officers – who were being paid from government coffers and had failed to discharge their duties – should also be held accountable.

To a question, he said that after finalising the terms of reference (ToRs), the enquiry commission should be constituted and directed to submit its report in the Supreme Court within the given timeframe.