ISLAMABAD: If Syed Khursheed Shah is to be believed, there is every likelihood that ongoing talks between the government and the nine-party opposition bloc will drag on “for all eternity”, since the former is showing no interest in resolving the issues around Panamagate.

Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly on Monday, the leader of the opposition said that though the opposition was all for moving ahead to formulate terms of reference (ToR) for the proposed Panama Papers commission, the government seems to be non-serious in this regard.

“Whether you like it or not, the [Panama Papers] issue has very much landed in the country; the sooner we resolve, the better it will be for the country,” the PPP leader said.

Mr Shah also mused, tongue in cheek, that the Panama Papers had caused heart problems to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and should be seriously approached by the government.

Govt appears not interested in addressing issues surrounding the leaks

Outside the house, opposition parties put their heads together on Monday to discuss the government’s response to their ToR, which was laid before the 12-member Panama Papers committee on Saturday.

PTI parliamentary leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi — who is also a member of the committee — told Dawn that “the government more or less stuck to its earlier stance, which all opposition parties believe will be of no use since their initial ToR have already been rejected by the Supreme Court”.

During the meeting, Mr Qureshi said, suggestions were sought from different political parties and legal experts, which would be discussed with the government during a meeting of the committee, to be held today (Tuesday).

Talking to media persons after the meeting, Opposition Leader in the Senate Aitzaz Ahsan expressed the hope that the government would accept the opposition’s response with an open heart, just as they had done throughout. In the same breath, Mr Ahsan warned there would be no exemption for the prime minister and his family as far Panama-specific investigations were concerned.

Political insiders say both sides are currently poles apart on the primary objective they each want to achieve as a result of the investigations.

No matter what happens, a government minister told Dawn, “We will not allow opposition parties to target the prime minister and his family under the guise of Panamagate (probe).”

Opposition parties, however, are insistent that the probe must start from the offshore companies owned by the children of the prime minister.

“Yes, the government side does want to prolong the issue, but we cannot let it drag on,” a PTI leader told Dawn.

Syed Khursheed Shah summed up this back and forth sarcastically during his budget speech, when he said, “By the grace of Allah, the ToR committee will not produce any results any time soon.”

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2016