ISLAMABAD: Six federal ministers will represent the government in the 12-member parliamentary committee that will draft the terms of reference (ToR) for the proposed Panamagate inquiry commission.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday wrote to National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, informing him about the names finalised by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for inclusion in the bi-partisan committee.

The names of the members show that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has also given representation to key coalition partners. Mr Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, IT Minister Anusha Rehman, Ports and Shipping Minister Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo and Housing and Works Minister Akram Khan Durrani will represent the government side in the committee, according to the letter seen by Dawn.

Opposition parties had already announced that they would be represented by Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Shah Mehmood Qureshi of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI), Ilyas Bilour of the Awami National Party (ANP), Sahibzada Tariqullah of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Tariq Bashir Cheema of the PML-Quaid.

Government and opposition leaders had agreed on May 18 to form a 12-member parliamentary committee — including six members each from both sides — that will draft the ToR for the proposed commission to be headed by the chief justice of Pakistan for holding an inquiry against those owning offshore companies as revealed by the Panama Papers leaks.

A spokesman for the National Assembly Secretariat confirmed that they had received names from both sides and that the speaker was expected to issue a notification regarding the constitution of the committee on Tuesday (today). He also disclosed that the speaker might convene the first meeting of the committee on Wednesday (tomorrow).

Both government and the opposition parties had agreed that besides concentrating on the individuals named in the Panama Papers, the committee will also go after those who received kickbacks and commissions, as well as those who had their loans written off illegally.

The agreement between the government and the opposition was reached in a meeting held at the chamber of the National Assembly speaker a day after the prime minister’s address to the assembly on May 17.

Separate motions were moved in both houses of the parliament regarding the constitution of the committee and the NA speaker and Senate chairman were authorised to nominate members.

When the government moved the motion in the Senate on Friday, Chairman Raza Rabbani refused to preside over the sitting, saying that he had not been consulted by the government before bringing the motion to the house and left the house as soon as Law Minister Zahid Hamid took the floor to seek permission to move the motion.

Ruling party senator Javed Abbasi then presided over the sitting and the house passed the motion, which had already been passed by the National Assembly a day earlier.

The prime minister had already agreed to constitute a judicial commission under the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) on the demand of opposition parties and the government wrote to the CJP last month to form the commission. The government had also sent the commission’s ToR to the CJP.

A nine-party opposition alliance not only rejected the government-prepared ToR, but presented its own version, demanding that the judicial commission should begin the inquiry with the prime minister and his family.

The opposition’s case was strengthened when the CJP also rejected the government-proposed ToR and called for the formation of the judicial commission through new legislation.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2016