Panama Leaks
Aitzaz asksif the Sharifs have a Midas touch to turn everything into gold; Mushahidullah says plunderers dishing dirt on others; govt, opposition trade allegations in joint sitting of parliament
ISLAMABAD: The treasury and the opposition benches traded allegations in the joint sitting of parliament on Monday, with the opposition accusing the Sharif family of tax evasion and money laundering by creating offshore companies and insisting on a forensic audit by an international company of repute.
Lashing out at the PML-N leadership, Opposition Leader in the Senate, Senator Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, said the prime minister should tell the nation how he took $30 million (Rs3 billion) out of the country.
He stuck to his party’s demand for a forensic audit by an international audit company that should have access to all the foreign accounts, assets and sources of funding and details of assets of the Sharif family abroad.
Questioning the sources of funding to accumulate properties abroad, the PPP leader asked if the Sharif family had a Midas touch (‘Paras ka pathar’) to turn everything into gold. “There are conflicting statements of the father and the son about the procurement of property abroad,” he said.
He opposed the formation of a commission comprising serving or retired judges, saying such exercises had yielded no results in the past.
The joint sitting was convened for the passage of the PIA (Conversion) Bill and six other bills but the proceedings turned rowdy when Aitzaz Ahsan made hard-hitting attacks on the PML-N leadership, asking them to present themselves for accountability.
Members from the opposition and treasury benches continued exchanging slogans and harsh remarks. “They are feeling uneasy during my speech,” Aitzaz said.
As the speaker asked Federal Minister Zahid Hamid to move for passage of the PIA Bill, the leaders of the opposition in the National Assembly and Senate Syed Khursheed Shah and Senator Aitzaz Ahsan respectively rose in their seats seeking discussion on the leaks.
“First, we want to speak on the sensitive issue that has jeopardised the reputation of politicians and the country,” Aitzaz Ahsan said, adding that the government should show a big heart to allow discussion on the issue.
The speaker said the National Assembly had already held a detailed discussion on the issue and the joint sitting should execute the legislative business for which it had been summoned.
The chair, however, gavefloor to Senator Aitzaz Ahsan who said a former judge of the superior judiciary went to great lengths to save his son and now another father, who was the prime minister, was out to protect his son. He recalled that the Ittefaq Group comprised seven brothers and questioned where the other six brothers had gone.
“Let me know if the Sharif family has the Midas touch to turn everything into gold,” he asked. “This is also our demand that an international audit company should be given the power of attorney by the Sharif family so that it can get details of their foreign accounts and transactions,” he said.
He was of the view that registration of an offshore company was not a crime but in this particular case, the offshore company was used either for money-laundering or tax evasion. “If the sources of funding are legitimate, then you have indulged in tax evasion,” he said. He recalled that Nawaz Sharif had managed $20 million loan through a commercial bank for a sugar mill in early 1990s when he was the prime minister.
“The bank management was pressurised to secure the loan without mortgaging any property,” he said. He said the crime fell within the purview of Section 9 of the NAB Ordinance and the punishment was 14-year imprisonment.
Responding to the points raised by Aitzaz Ahsan, PML-N Senator Mushahidullah said those who indulged in loot and plunder during their tenure were now dishing the dirt at others.
Mushahid said the government was following the path of development and prosperity and was determined to implement the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project and address the challenge of loadshedding. “Today, the opposition claims that the prime minister has not disclosed his London flats but they forget that Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto used to have political meetings with Nawaz Sharif in the same flat.”
He said there had been no charges of corruption against the federal government and the Punjab government.
The PML-N parliamentarian, however, faced a tough time from the opposition members who continued hooting and sloganeering during his speech.Sensing disorder in the house, the speaker prorogued the session before Mushahidullah Khan could complete his speech.
Towards the end of the proceedings, the opposition parties, including the PPP, PTI and MQM, staged a walkout in protest against the remarks of JUI-F member Maulana Ameer Zaman against a female member of PTI.