Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The upper house of the parliament was informed on Thursday that opposition parties had agreed on an investigation into the Panama leaks by a credible international forensic firm. The house was informed that the opposition parties wanted the investigation to begin from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s family.

Leader of opposition in the Senate Aitzaz Ahsan made the announcement in the Senate in this regard. He said that opposition parties like the PPP, PTI, ANP and JI held a meeting on the issue and agreed on certain points. He said that main purpose of the probe was to find out how the money was transferred abroad and what was the source of this income. He said that all people accused of having foreign assets should be investigated, but the investigation should begin from prime minister’s family. He said the report of the investigation should be presented to the commission led by the chief justice of Pakistan. He said that a parliamentary committee, if not the chief justice, should lead the investigation. The PPP leader said that parliament, mainly the opposition parties, should decide the terms of reference of the investigation commission. He said the opposition parties had agreed that the statements of prime minister’s son about his offshore companies should be taken as evidence to set up the investigation commission. He said the prime minister should explain the source of income, which he spent to buy properties in London. He said the prime minister should have come to the parliament and taken the parliamentarians into confidence like the British parliament if his family had bought all foreign assets through legal means.

Taking part in the debate, PPP leader Saeed Ghani said that there were contradictions in the statements of prime minister’s sons on their properties in London.

PML-N Senator Nihal Hashmi was of the view that late Benazir Bhutto’s name was also among those who were accused of building foreign assets. Senator Javed Abbasi suggested that the parliament should decide the terms of reference of the commission, which would look into the Panama leaks. MQM Senator Ateeq Shaikh said there was something special, which made the prime minister address the nation so quickly after the Panama leaks.

The senators also discussed an adjournment motion relating to the suicide bombing at the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Lahore. Condemning the incident, the legislators regretted that Pakistan’s involvement in the internal affairs of Afghanistan put both countries on the path of destruction. They said that terrorists were given training to work in other countries and now that fire was burning the people of Pakistan. They said that the government was discriminating between the good Taliban and the bad Taliban even today. They said that Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif openly asked the Taliban not to target Punjab. They said that such statements spread hatred among the provinces.

Condemning the Lahore bombing, PPP Senator Saeed Ghani said the Punjab government should change its stance on banned organisations.

PML-N Senator Abdul Qayyum said that terming Punjab a supporter of the banned organisations hurt the feelings of the people of Punjab. He said, “Let’s join hands and collectively fight terrorism. The international community is appreciating Pakistan’s efforts against terrorism.”

MQM Senator Ateeq Shaikh said that terrorism was flourishing in the country even today. Ruling Senator Nihal Hashmi asked the opposition to stop the blame game and point scoring over the Lahore bombing.

PPP Senator Taj Haider said that terrorists did not spare anyone, not even the General Headquarters of the Pakistan Army and the Mehran Base of the Pakistan Navy. He said there were some insiders who had links with the terrorists. He said that such people in the national institutions should be identified.

Senator Dr Jamaldini said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the worst affected province as far as terrorism was concerned. He said that terrorism spread across the country due to government’s mistakes or wrong decisions. He said the government needed to rethink its policies.

Senator Usman Kakar held military dictators Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf responsible for spread of terrorism in the country. Senator Ayesha Farooq said, “Let us unite against terrorism and get rid of it once and for all.”

Senator Mohsin Leghari held the poorly-trained police responsible for the spread of terrorism in the country. He called into question the performance of the intelligence agencies in the wake of terrorist attacks.

Senator Javed Abbasi said the situation was far better today compared to 2013 when his party assumed the power. Sardar Musakhel said that 85 percent of the national budget was spent on defence and intelligence agencies, but they failed to curb terrorism in the country.

Winding up the debate, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Shaikh Aftab said that 9/11 changed the world and affected the Muslim countries. He said the war between the United States and the Soviet Union in Afghanistan was brought to Pakistan. Instead of blaming each other, he said, “Let us join hands against terrorism.” He said that terrorist attacks had decreased considerably after the launch of the Operation Zarb-e-Azb and the people of the affected areas were now returning to their homes. He said the operation in Karachi had restored peace in the city to a great extent.

Jointly sponsored by leader of the house, opposition leader and the parliamentary leaders of 10 political parties, the house adopted a resolution to renumber the Senate sessions starting from August 6, 1973. Leader of the house Raja Zafar-ul-Haq presented the resolution. Explaining rationale behind the move, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani said that sessions, which were held during dictatorial regimes, would not be included in the overall number of the Senate sessions. He said the resolution was aimed at rectifying the historic mistake.

Aurangzeb Khan from the FATA pointed out that teachers from the area were agitating in Islamabad for the last two days and their problems should be solved. The Senate chairman said these teachers agitated a few months ago as well and an understanding was reached to address their grievances. He asked the minister for states and frontier regions to brief the house about the protesting teachers’ problems when the session resumes on Friday.