Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: After the failure of parliamentary committee, the Standing Committee on Finance has decided to investigate the Panama leaks scandal, Daily Times learnt.

Sources said the committee chairman has sought the finance minister’s permission to summon a meeting in this regard.

They added National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue Chairman Qaiser Ahmad Sheikh wrote a letter to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar that he wanted to summon the meeting of committee on October 5 to discuss the Panama leaks scandal. Sheikh said he wanted to summon the finance secretary, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman and the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) chairman in this regard.

Sources said that the finance minister’s consent was required to call the meeting. The scandal is a sensitive issue for the government so the chairman, who himself belongs to the ruling party, has sought Dar’s permission.

In the last meeting on September 8, the opposition members demanded a briefing on action taken by the departments concerned on the scandal, but the FBR chairman and finance secretary refused to give the briefing on the pretext that they had not received any notice in this regard. To avoid such situation in the next meeting, the chairman, after the approval of the finance minister, will issue notices to all heads of concerned departments, sources maintained.

On the other hand, opposition parties decided to continue pressure on the government regarding Panama leaks through parliamentary committees. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has already discussed the matter and sought a report in one month. On powers of the standing committee, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said, “I did not stop any committee to take up the Panama issue. Such allegations are false. PAC and finance committee have already discussed this matter. How did they proceed without my permission?”