Daily Times

PESHAWAR: The Awami National Party (ANP) has decided to step up campaign seeking disqualification of three Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers after their names figured in the Panama Papers.

Talking to Daily Times on Tuesday, ANP general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that the ANP had submitted an application with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in May against three Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers namely provincial Health Minister Shahram Khan Tarakai, Muhammad Ali Tarakai and their father Senator Liaquat Tarakai after their names appeared in the Panama Papers.

He said the application, seeking the PTI lawmakers disqualification, was pending with the ECP since May, as number of its members was not completed. He said that proceedings were likely to being after the appointments of the ECP members.

ANP’s Senator Bushra Gohar had submitted the application in the ECP; arguing that MPAs Shahram Khan Tarakai and Muhammad Ali Tarakai, and Senator Liaqat Tarakai concealed their offshore companies. “The ANP has completed legal formalities against the PTI lawmakers disqualification in Panama leaks case,” Gohar said.

After named in the Panama Papers, none of the parliamentarian could hold any public office and he or she would be consider disqualified by the ECP, she added. “The ANP will resume follow up of its application as the government has appointed the ECP members, Mian Iftikhar said. Criticising the PTI’s chairman, he said that Imran Khan had turned a deaf ear towards his own lawmakers and had been pressurising the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) over offshore holdings.

The ANP secretary general said that the senator and his two sons had concealed their assets while submitting their nomination papers with the ECP in 2013 election. Earlier on June 27, the hearing of case against the PTI lawmakers was suspended due to lack of ECP quorum.

Mian Iftikhar said that his party would move high court if their application was not heart and action not taken accordingly.