The federal government fully supports a thorough probe into the Panama leaks but all the parliamentarians, both from the treasury and opposition, must volunteer to make themselves accountable in order to "clear the dust once and for all," said Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. Addressing a press conference on Monday, he called for a broader accountability of members of Parliament to bring the truth before the nation.
He said all parliamentarians, including from government and opposition, should present themselves for accountability. "If all members of the Parliament present themselves for accountability only then will it be a defining moment of the country," he said, adding an ethics committee should be set up for the accountability of parliamentarians.
He said he is willing to present himself before all for accountability.
He said that his demand to conduct accountability of parliamentarians should not be mixed with the investigation of the Panama leaks. "The investigation of offshore accounts should be conducted separately and it should be investigated thoroughly to bring the truth in front of the nation," he said. He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif never denied his ownership of Mayfair property in London. "Everyone knows that former Prime Minister and Pakistan People Party (PPP) chairperson Benazir Bhutto had also visited his Mayfair residence," he said.
Khan said that the leader of the opposition in the Senate, Aitzaz Ahsan, during his speech criticised only Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) but he ignored his own leadership regarding the Panama leaks. Although Aitzaz mentioned Mayfair flat he did not talk about the Surrey palace.
"The same Panama Papers also levelled allegations against two PPP sitting Senators and one of them owns 34 offshore companies," he said. He also said that people have approached him with files about corruption "committed" by the opposition leader in the National Assembly (Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah).
Interior Minister said the opposition parties should first clear the confusion whether they want the revelations of Panama Papers investigated through a judicial commission or the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). He said the demand for an investigation into the Panama Papers through FIA came from the opposition including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) Imran Khan. He said that instead of using the issue for political point scoring, the opposition should cooperate in investigations to bring forth the truth.
He said that the PTI chief Imran Khan has demanded a probe into the Panama leaks through FIA, so he accepted his demand and offered him to name an FIA official of his choice to head the inquiry. To a question about PTI's nomination of Shoaib Suddle for the probe, he said he has deep respects for Suddle, but he is not an official of the FIA.
The Interior Minister made it clear to PTI that no public gathering would be allowed at D-Chowk as well as in F-9 Park and the writ of state would be established. Such activities are against the fundamental rights of the people of the federal capital. Such activities badly affect the business activities in Islamabad, he said, adding that "we will take a proposal to federal cabinet regarding a ban on public gatherings in the city and then it will be shared with all the political parities." "The administration can provide PTI an alternative place for upcoming event on April 24 in the city except D-Chowk and F-9 park on the condition that the participants of the gathering would not go behind the defined territory. Moreover, they will be required to extend an undertaking that the organiser will be held responsible if any untoward incident occurred," he said.
Khan said that he is ready to have a conversation with Khan over phone or to meet him in persons on the issue because "this is a national matter". He said the months long PTI sit-in at D-Chowk cost the national exchequer nearly one billion rupees on account of security arrangements.
Comments
Comments are closed.