Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to give a final shot to the Panama leaks issue at a meeting of the parliamentary committee on Tuesday.

National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq is still working for mediation between the government and the opposition and he has convened a meeting of the House Business Advisory Committee on Monday (today) for this purpose.

Parliamentary sources told Daily Times that Sadiq would first chair a meeting of representatives of all parliamentary parties at his chamber at 4pm on Monday and then invite recommendations from members of the House Business Advisory Committee about the parliamentary committee on the terms of reference (ToRs) for the judicial commission that would investigate the Panama leaks. On Tuesday, Sadiq would meet members of the parliamentary committee and request both the government and opposition members to show magnanimity and resolve the issue in the parliament.

On the other hand, sources said the government had finalised its strategy for the parliamentary committee meeting; it was going to give the issue a final shot. The sources said the government now wanted to make the ToRs suggested by the ruling and the opposition parties public so that people know each party’s stance on this issue.

Sources said the government would never want the Panama leaks investigation to begin from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif or his family; it wanted a law under which all those mentioned in the Panama Papers should be investigated without any discrimination. The opposition is likely to suggest a special legislation in the parliament to settle this issue.

Although Sadiq has invited all members of the parliamentary committee on the ToRs to Tuesday’s meeting at his chamber, the opposition parties have yet to decide whether to attend or not to attend the meeting because Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Aitzaz Ahsan did not want to attend the meeting. He was of the view that the government was not serious about the ToRs issue and the opposition had already showed maximum flexibility on this issue. However, the final decision about participation in the meeting would be taken at a meeting of the opposition parties on Monday (today).

Sources said the government would take a tough stance at the meeting chaired by the speaker; therefore, Sadiq has invited Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah to help him keep the meeting atmosphere cool.