ISLAMABAD: The government on Monday will face a Senate’s committee on the issue of the publication of official advertisements in which the position of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was defended against the backdrop of the leaked Panama Papers. The committee will also raise questions over the alleged political use of the Press Information Department (PID).

Both the issues are top agenda items of the meeting of Senate’s Standing Committee on Information to be held on Monday.

It is expected that Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid will apprise the committee of the government’s point of view on the issues.

The committee is headed by Kamil Ali Agha of the PML-Q.

The opposition has already lashed out at the government for “misusing” public money by issuing advertisements to newspapers in defence of the prime minister who is being accused of money laundering and corruption in the wake of Panama leaks.

The PPP has already submitted a call attention notice to the National Assembly Secretariat, seeking justification from the information minister for using public funds to promote personal and party agendas.

Amid strong criticism by the opposition on the Panama leaks, the government held a cabinet meeting on April 27. The next day the government released half-page coloured advertisement to almost all mainstream newspapers of the country carrying reflection of a news item regarding a clarification by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the organisation which released the documentary evidence of those who owned offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands, regarding the prime minister’s involvement.

The advertisement also carried the correction on the ICIJ website, stating: “Due to an editing error, a sentence in an earlier version of this story implied that the prime minister of Pakistan controlled an offshore company that appeared in the Panama Papers files. It is his children who control the offshore companies.”

However, the ICIJ, on the next day, clarified that it had not stated that the name of Mr Sharif was mentioned in the Panama Papers mistakenly.

Talking to Dawn, PPP leader Farhatullah Babar said: “The government should not spend public money in a bid to clear the prime minister and his family in Panama leaks controversy.”

The committee will also seek details of expenditure incurred on the government advertisements.

Meanwhile, some opposition parties, including Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), have accused the ruling PML-N of using the platform of the PID for political motives.

The PTI has demanded the same facility for other political parties. PTI leader Arif Alvi said that the PID was a state institution and the ruling party had no right to misuse it for its political motives and for promoting its agenda.

PTI chief Imran Khan had on April 7 announced that he would hold a press conference at the PID. However, on the next day not Imran Khan, but his party’s Information Secretary Naeemul Haq held the first ever press conference of any opposition party in the PID. The press conference, however, was not covered by the state-run Pakistan Television.

Other important matters to be discussed by the Senate’s committee are: total amount incurred on government advertisements over the past three years, performance of Federal Land Commission, briefing on Lok Virsa, the right to information bill, the code of conduct for media, ban on film ‘Maalik’ and the issue of BOL channel.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2016