ISLAMABAD: Turning down the proposal of fellow party member and opposition leader, Syed Khursheed Shah, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani on Sunday excused himself from heading a parliamentary commission to hold investigations into the Panama Papers leak.

Though Mr Shah had not formally proposed his name as head of the inquiry commission and only informally mentioned it during a chat with reporters at the Karachi Press Club on Saturday, Mr Rabbani — who always goes by the book — issued a detailed statement on Sunday, citing a number of reasons why he would not be able to accept such a proposal.

When suggesting the Senate chairman’s name, the opposition leader had said that Mr Rabbani was considered a man of integrity and that no political party would have any objections over a commission headed by him.

But by issuing the statement, Mr Rabbani has, in fact, shut the door on his name even being considered if the government and the opposition, at any stage, reach an understanding over the constitution of a parliamentary committee to probe charges of money laundering and tax evasion against the Sharif family and others.

Giving his reasons, Mr Rabbani said that in his capacity as the Senate chairman, he was the custodian of the rights of the Senate in particular and of parliament in general. “Such a position may have the potential of creating a conflict of interest,” he said.

Dar says commission will be notified as soon as ‘codal formalities’ finalised.

Secondly, he said, the Panama Papers inquiry involved “complicated questions of facts, laws and cross-jurisdictions, which requires specialisation in the said fields”.

“The Panama leak requires expertise in the field of investigation of white collar crime, which I lack,” he frankly admitted.

“I have my own point of view with reference to the effectiveness, or otherwise, of a parliamentary committee ... it will not be appropriate for me, as the Senate Chairman, to go into [them] at this stage,” he said, demonstrating a divergence with his party’s own demand to set up a parliamentary commission to investigate the matter.

While he hoped that all “speculations and comments” with reference to Mr Shah’s statement would now cease, Mr Rabbani thanked the opposition leader for reposing trust in him.

“I am grateful for the trust and confidence placed in me by the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly of Pakistan, by suggesting my name to head a parliament committee to inquire into the Panama leaks. I am not available for consideration amongst other probables” for the above-stated reasons, he said.

Opposition parties have already rejected an announcement, made by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, to constitute an inquiry commission under a retired judge. However, the PPP has called for a probe through a parliamentary body, which will have members of all political parties. The PTI, on the other hand, says that the proposed commission should be headed by the incumbent chief justice of Pakistan.

The government, so far, seems reluctant to even consider the proposals of both parties, saying that it will stick to the announcement already made by the prime minister during his address to the nation on April 5.

A government team headed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has already finalised the terms of reference (ToRs) for the proposed commission. Now, the government plans to contact the opposition parties to take them into confidence over the move.

The PPP and PTI have also launched their own campaigns to contact other parties, rallying support for their own proposals.

Meanwhile, in a statement on Sunday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said the formation of an inquiry commission, in line with the prime minister’s announcement, “shall be notified on completion of requisite codal formalities”.

The minister also thought that suggesting Mr Rabbani as the head of the inquiry commission was not an appropriate suggestion.

“Besides performing duties [as] the Senate chairman, on occasion, he also has to serve as acting president of Pakistan,” he said, adding that the statement of the Senate chairman declining the proposal to head the commission was “most appropriate”.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2016