ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah has been taking the government to task over the Panama Papers leaks in parliament for several weeks now.

However, during Wednesday’s meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which he chairs, the Pakistan Peoples Party leader adroitly changed the subject when the Panama Papers came up for discussion.

The Panama Papers are a set of documents that show the myriad ways in which the rich can exploit secretive offshore tax regimes. The leaks jolted Pakistani politics after revealing that the sons and daughter of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif owned offshore companies, and remained the key talking point in the media.

On Wednesday, when Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman Nisar Mohammad Khan was briefing the PAC on mobile phone companies revenue, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf’s (PTI) Shafqat Mehmood brought up Panamagate, asking the FBR chairman: “Five hundred Pakistanis have been named in the Panama [Papers] leaks; has the FBR initiated action against any one of them?”

In response, the FBR chief said, “We are doing our homework; we are looking into our records to get some related information to the issue.”

While Mr Mehmood asked the FBR head to specify what he meant by “homework”, he responded: “The FBR has started scrutinising the asset declarations of individuals named in the Panama Papers. In case we find any solid information, it will be shared with the government and after approval of the government functionaries, the matter will be pursued.”

“Why don’t you proceed against the culprits on your own, or refer their cases to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) or the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA),” Mr Mehmood said, prodding the FBR chief.

To this, the tax chief replied that the FBR could not take certain steps in such a situation due to limitations placed on it. However, he claimed that the FBR had proposed a few amendments to the law, which may be considered in the upcoming budget session.

During the exchange between the PTI lawmaker and the FBR chairman, members of the ruling party tried to change the subject, asking some ‘general knowledge’ questions from the FBR chief.

For example, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Rana Afzal Hussain asked: “Is the FBR taking any action against tax evaders?”

“Are tax amnesty schemes offered by different regimes are illegal?” asked Mian Abdul Manan, another PML-N lawmaker. But instead of the FBR chief, MNA Rana Afzal replied, “No”.

Taking exception, Sheikh Ra­shid Ahmed jumped into the fray and, addressing Rana Afzal, said “You were not supposed to answer, as this question was not for you.”

It was at this point that Mr Shah, who had been silently watching the exchange, intervened, saying that discussion on the Panama Papers leaks was not part of the PAC’s agenda and should be avoided.

Endorsing this viewpoint, PML-N’s Sheikh Rohail Asghar said the committee had deviated from its real objectives and had engaged in mud-slugging instead.

Mr Shah then asked the FBR chairman to wind up the briefing on the telecom industry’s revenue, but observed that it would be futile if the committee concluded the matter without hearing the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) chairman.

The PAC chairman directed the committee secretary to write to the PTA chairman and schedule the briefing for the next available date.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2016