Daily Times

The Panama Papers, which leaked numerous details of secret offshore wealth of influential people, is the issue being discussed, both home and abroad. The revelation of such a staggering amount remains a surprise to many; nonetheless, this systematic corruption or mishandling the national wealth is nothing new when it comes to Pakistan. After the leaks, there appeared some interesting reactions. PPP leader Rehman Malik termed it an Indian conspiracy while Russian President Vladimir Putin said its a plot hatched by the United States. Most of the accused are rejecting the reports while others are welcoming further investigation into the matter.

Pakistan’s Connection

One the leading business families in and out of the country, the Sharif family, has a share in the report. In reaction to the report, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addressed the people of Pakistan, sharing the story of how his father strived to build business and later joined politics. It was an emotional speech rather than a logical one. The prime minster announced a judicial commission to investigate the leaks. And now he is in London for medical check-up.

The National Accountability Bureau, whose job is to investigate corruption-related issues, needs to step down in the ground vigilantly. A more appropriate step is to from an independent body of international repute to investigate the matter in the light of Panama Papers. Benazir Bhutto’s case should be dealt with, accordingly. Given the previous records of corruption in the country, there seems no chance of the money coming back.

Exposing International Wealth Secrets

From Putin and his associates to Pakistan’s Sharif family, many came under the exposing umbrella of Panama Papers – including Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmunder Davio (who resigned), British PM David Cameron’s late father, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, King Salman of Saudi Arabia, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s family members and many others.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, moreover, has done a tremendous and difficult job in revealing certain information. For completion of this task, the respective governments of the states need to step forward. In countries like Pakistan and Russia, whose listed names are presently in power, it remains unclear whether or not an independent and legal inquiry could be taken though.

Credits to Investigative Journalism

The Washington Post reports that “the extent of the material from the law firm Mossack Fonseca & Co proved so daunting- it would take more than 38,000 average-sized books to contain 11.5 million pages that the German reporters turned to the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.”

The work done by the ICIJ is imperative and exemplary in the field of investigative journalism. Gathering 370 journalists from 70 countries and 100 media organisations and assigning them the sole purpose of unearthing million-dollar information would have remained unfulfilled for states if the ICIJ had not done it.

It too, is a great lesson for the mainstream media in terms of investigative journalism. As per bringing culprits into justice and proving how authentic prevailing paper, the ball remains in the court of government and media. If it goes ignored, it will be ordinary. If a little different is done do it, it will be a little extra!