Weak commission to have only civil court powers: Asad

Tariq says whichever department will be called by CJP, govt to cooperate with him; Noorani says under 1956 law problems were of different nature;

speak in Geo programme Naya Pakistan

Talat Hussain said in his Geo programme Naya Pakistan that PTI Chairman Imran Khan has rejected the commission which was mentioned in the yesterday’s speech of the prime minister.

He said that the ToRs, under whom this commission will work, are not acceptable to us. And they would not accept the ToRs until they would be determined with the input from opposition.

On the other hand, the government says you cannot run away from the commission. We will form the commission only in this way.We will discuss why an issue lingers on in Pakistan and whether there would be consensus on the commission in the coming days or not.

Besides this, rise of PTI as a large party would also be discussed. Part from this, the assassination of the KP chief minister’s adviser would be discussed in editorial comments.

Talat Hussain to Asad: your one demand has been fulfilled with writing of a letter to the Supreme Court and a chief justice-led commission would be formed. The objection is now on the ToRs. Are they incomplete? Are they too large? What is your objection on this?

Asad Umar: The ToRs are formulated under the 1956 Act which would lead to a week commission. It has civil court powers only and there is no authority to collect proof and there is no mention of forensic auditors.

Talat Hussain: But help can be sought from any expert and they also have the high court’s powers regarding contempt.

Asad Umar: It can be done. But if the tax authorities do not provide information, they cannot do anything. If the State Bank of Pakistan says information is private then they cannot do anything. There are weaknesses in collecting proof and they do not have powers for obtaining international evidence.

Talat Hussain: Then under which law it should be formed?

Asad Umar: You will have to make a special law.

Talat Hussain: So first legislate and then form a commission?

Asad Umar: Yes one will have to do it and it is not a lengthy process.

Talat Hussain: You demand was not about the law. Your demand was that a commission headed by the chief justice should be formed.

Asad Umar: Commission should be constituted.

Talat Hussain: That means commission should not work on covering all the proportions the corruption had gained.

Asad Umar: They have put in all things in one commission; it would not be able to do it. This commission should be for top-level investigation. Top of it is the name of the prime minister and his family.

Talat Hussain: Prime minister’s family’s name? Not prime minister’s name?

Asad Umar: I think his name is included. It is about 1993-94 assets which are under discussion. The companies set up, the companies which Panama leaks have mentioned, were set up in 1993-94. These companies have been set up in the names of sons, and daughter, who were as old as 17, 18, or 19, 20 years; then it clearly shows that the prime minister had set up those companies at that time.

Talat Hussain: Tariq Sahib, if you had settled these matters with them and with the People’s Party, and if you had sought their input before deciding the ToRs, then we would have been conducting a programme on some other topic. So why didn’t you seek their input?

Tariq Fazal Chaudhry: After Panama leaks, when we said that we are going to constitute an inquiry commission, which will be led by a retired judge, then the opposition insisted that the commission should be led by the chief justice and not a retired judge.

Talat Hussain: They gave Shoaib Suddle’s name.

Tariq Fazal: Shoaib Suddle’s name was given by Imran Khan himself. The opposition demanded that commission should be formed under the chief justice, which we have formed. We have cut off our hands, and given them in their hands. Now all investigation is carried out by them. The government would cooperate, whichever department is called by the chief justice.

Talat Hussain: So, you said that as the blame has been placed on us, so if we are going to be drowned, we will also pull you under the water. You have spread the matter too large…

Tariq Fazal: Those who are public holder right now, and those who were public office holders earlier… it seems it is now the agenda of Tehreek-e-Insaf that neither they would play nor let anyone else to play. He could not extract a decision of his choice through force or suppression no matter there’s one Imran Khan or there are ten. General Musharraf could not get resignation from the prime minister at gunpoint.

Talat Hussain: What fact you are going to set straight?

Asad Umar: They said that the demand was met. He may be aware of the fact or not that the government was in contact with us as well as other political parties. They knew it well that if they would prepare ToRs themselves and write a letter without an agreement, we would not accept it. So they did it on purpose.

Talat Hussain: What’s solution it? What should be done?

Ahmad Noorani: I have been watching what have been their demands about ToRs yesterday and today. The actual demand that a commission should be formed has been met as the commission is constituted. And all basic elements of the ToRs have been included in it. Now the new stance is very meaningful… that the chief justice, whatever, letter has been written, Supreme Court’s judges included…

Talat Hussain: Another thing coming to the fore is that though the commission would be led by the chief justice, but the law and the rules under which the commission would work, it would be toothless.

Ahmad Noorani: There’s nothing such thing. The issues dealt with under the 1956 law have been different in nature.

Talat Hussain: What is the basis of PTI fears?

Asad Umar: The chief justice has to work under the law under which the commission will be formed. IN this law it has been written what powers he will have and what not? ToRs are not written while sitting on a TV programme.

Talat Hussain: What would you wish to exclude from it? Rejection is easy. What should be excluded?

Asad Umar: Nothing is required to be excluded. Rather the prime minister about whom the disclosures have come out, his investigation cannot be made subject to the point that it would be carried out after that all task was completed.

Tariq Fazal responded to this if we can give directions to the chief justice that inquiry of the prime minister would be held at the end.

Asad Umar said in his reply that the report you have asked for cannot be completed till all these tasks are completed.

Talat Hussain: Who you have to get hold of, corruption or Nawaz Sharif.

Asad Umar: The both. When a person heading a system is corrupt, how can you set right that system? We want that if Asad Umar is corrupt, then government should arrest him, it is its duty.

Adding to the discussion, Tariq Fazal said that basic problem is the ToRs, not the powers of the commission. This has become a typical political attitude and behaviour of the PTI. This whole is the problem of this.

Talat Hussain: The PPP states that the PM should have yielded to the parliament. Before him he talks of the parliamentary committee or commission. I would like to be informed that in the coming days your mechanism will be to form a party comprising all parties that should sit to make recommendations in order to finalize the ToRs. Is that what is your proposal?

Tariq Fazal: This that you have talked of the parliamentary commission, our party was in contact with all parliamentary parties individually and made contacts with them. And we put before them the parliamentary commission that they give their representation. This has also been rejected by him. I am talking of this political attitude.

Talat Hussain: How will be finalized the inputs of the ToRs that I am talking of?

Asad Umar: A leader of the parliament is investigated by the parliament, this is no logic. This time all parties have rejected the letter and ToRs of the prime minister. Next step is the consultation.

Talat Hussain: How many chances there are of your show of flexibility over the demands your are making and a real dialogue is started. How many chances there are?

Tariq Fazal: He is stating that no law exists. Now no commission can be formed under some Indian law.

Host Talat Hussain asked the Pak Sarzameen party leader Syed Hafeezuddin what urged him to quit the party because if you view from Islamabad that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf if flying high, then why he had quit it. To this he replied, that he had been general secretary and permanent member of Core committee of the PTI Sindh and had served the party wholeheartedly. He said that he had an evident role in the 2013 election. Imran Khan received four applications in response to advertisement for candidacy in election across Sindh. I, along with Nadir Leghari Sahib sought permission but he had intention that no election be fought in Sindh. He held competition of above 100 candidates across Sindh. Talat asked why Imran Khan stated that election should not be contested in Sindh. He said that there was no application received and none was willing to context election there. Talat asked if he was not judging Imran Khan in haste and had defected to another party while he had worked for two years and new election process is continued. Hafeezuddin said that the PTI could get only 1400 votes out of 54,000 in NA-245 Karachi election. A similar situation was there in PS-11. Hafeezuddin said winning or losing is not the issue, it is struggle that continues and political worker has a say in society. He said that Imran Ismail was not willing to contest election and said that he was defaulter and Imran Khan is surrounded by his cronies. He said the way to success of Pakistan starts in Karachi. Talat asked the PSP leader if he found Mustafa Kamal an eloquent orator. To this he replied that Kamal is a young man and has delivered in Karachi. To this Talat put a cross question that his performance was from the platform of the MQM and he should not quote it. Hafeezuddin said it is what happens. It is not the issue. It is personal performance of a person which moves forward his matters, and when he knew that Kamal had landed in Karachi, he was in contact with him within one hour. Talat asked what is the guarantee that he would not defect to another party next year because he was earlier in the PML-N, then in the PTI and now has joined the PSP. He replied that he is a political worker and is in search of better than the best because the city and the country is being destroyed. He said that our forefathers had not migrated that this country fall victim to destruction, corruption, evils and that people roam in search of education and health facilities.

Host: Talat Hussain… A keynote pertains to Soran Singh, advisor to KP chief minister for minorities affairs, who has been murdered. The latest news is that five people have been arrested on charges of his murder but the news developed so far is dangerous to Pakistan. KP was considered friendly to the minorities and a large number of Sikhs lived there and Soran Singh was educated, political sensible and patriotic representative of the Sikhs.

His murder in Buner and the fleeing of people from the area hints at critical situation there. It is a murder of a key political personality, not merely a representative of the minorities.

The bloodshed has continued in recent days in the KP where the parties of the province and the centre are locked in a fix which is in favour of the efforts to counter such happenings which have cost precious human lives. We all should pay attention to these matters.