The second round of the Panama leaks has also named more than 250 Pakistanis who are linked to offshore accounts in a number of tax havens. This second set of data includes information from ten tax havens, including the British Virgin Islands and Singapore. This time too those named range from bureaucrats to politicians to businessmen and financiers of politicians like the ‘anti-corruption’ Imran Khan. Meanwhile, political bickering over the issue has also continued with a number of key opposition figures demanding that the prime minister present his entire financial history before parliament or the opposition would boycott the proceedings of the National Assembly and the Senate. The prime minister is now going to attend the National Assembly session on Friday. But it is clear that the likely outcome of making a political mess of the whole issue is a complete stasis in lawmaking at a critical time, with the budget for next year due in another three weeks. In practical terms, matters have not moved beyond the ball having been thrown to the Supreme Court.
The only way to solve the issues around the leaks is investigation. The time has come for the opposition and government to sit together and agree to some mutually agreeable positions, instead of squabbling over the commission and its TORs. Therefore, reports of contact between the government and the opposition – despite all the heat generated – are positive. If progress is made in that direction, complications, subjective or objective, in the way of the SC taking up the matter would be less of a hurdle. The fact is that the new leaks also highlight the need for accountability for all. The government and the opposition must work towards eliminating the loopholes in the law relating to transfer of funds abroad, and bring new legislation to the table to deal with the issue. We already hear that the federal budget announcement may be delayed due to the ongoing impasse. The loss will be ours. There is a need for a constructive way out.
