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Friday March 29, 2024

ToRs’ committee meeting produces no result

By Asim Yasin
June 01, 2016

Opposition says not much time left with the government

ISLAMABAD: The deadlock between the government and opposition on the formulation of terms of reference (ToRs) for probing the PanamaLeaks continues as the meeting of the parliamentary committee ended without any progress on Tuesday.

The government was supposed to submit its reply to the opposition on its 15-point ToRs but failed to do so, while seeking more time for it. The opposition warned that not much time was left with the government on the issue. The opposition also registered a protest on the statement of one of the members of the government’s team, Khawaja Saad Rafique, about the PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

The government side responded that nothing had been said by Saad Rafiq regarding the proceedings of the committee. The government members were of the view that Saad Rafique had merely responded to the extremely virulent criticism of the government leadership by the said opposition leader to which he had strongly protested. They said the members of the committee should advise their party leaders to avoid commenting on issues relating to the committee.

Talking to media persons after the meeting, Opposition Leader in the Senate Aitzaz Ahsan along with other opposition members confirmed that the deadlock between them and the government still continues and there was no progress in Tuesday’s meeting. “The government ministers are deliberately spoiling the situation,” he said.

Aitzaz said the attitude of the government in the committee meeting was not positive and they wanted to save the prime minister and his family at all costs. He said aggressive statements issued by the government team had affected the progress made by the committee. “We are disappointed by the attitude of the government,” he said.

Aitzaz said the joint opposition has worked hard on ToRs in line with the letter of the Supreme Court. He said the opposition asked the government to accept their 15 points and also brought their own proposals but they did not submit their opinion in this regard. He said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar would be busy in budget over the next three to four days and now the committee will meet on Saturday evening.

Deputy parliamentary leader of the PTI in the National Assembly Shah Mehmood Qureshi urged the government’s members to refrain from making provocative statements. He said the committee suspended its meeting on Tuesday on the request of government.

The Jamaat-e-Islami leader Sahibzada Tariqullah said the matter was moving ahead at a snail’s pace. “We will share our version with the nation within two weeks,” he said.

Meanwhile, official announcement of the government stated that on the request of the government, the parliamentary committee on Panama Papers etc decided to adjourn the meeting due to the open-heart surgery of the prime minister in the United Kingdom. The committee expressed their good wishes for the successful surgery and speedy recovery of the prime minister.

Senators Ishaq Dar, Aitzaz Ahsan, Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo and Muhammad Ali Saif, and Members of the National Assembly Zahid Hamid, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Akram Khan Durrani, Anusha Rehman, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Sahibzada Tariqullah and Chaudhry Tariq Bashir Cheema attended the meeting.