NEW YORK: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said that progress has been made towards setting up a commission to undertake investigation into Panama Papers leaks.

Speaking to US-based Pakistani journalists here, he expressed the hope that an announcement about the formation of the commission would be made in next 48 hours.

Chaudhry Nisar acknowledged the delay in establishing the commission, saying that atmosphere had become so charged by some inflammatory statements that two of the retired judges of the Supreme Court declined the offer to head such a body. Moreover, he said, demands from parties and individuals had varied from a judicial commission to an inquiry by parliament.

But now the work had picked up pace and there would be a positive outcome, he said.

As regards the activities of Indian spy agency and the arrest of Indian agent Kulbhushan Jadhav, he said that envoys of the permanent members of the UN Security Council had been briefed on the matter as well as the Iranian government. He called it a serious matter, saying the government would pursue it to get to the bottom of the case.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2016