ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday welcomed the initiation of judicial proceedings in the Panama Papers case and asked opposition parties to wait for the court’s verdict.

However, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) rejected the prime minister’s request, saying the party could no longer trust someone who had hoodwinked parliament and other state institutions for six months, just to escape accountability.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) welcomed the issuance of notices to the respondents by the Supreme Court and continued to criticise the PTI for its call to lock down Islamabad.

PTI wary of PM’s willingness to present himself for accountability

“The Election Commission of Pakistan, the Supreme Court and the Lahore High Court have taken up the Panama Papers issue. I have a firm belief in the supremacy of the Constitution, rule of law and transparency,” Mr Sharif said in a statement issued hours after a three-judge bench of the apex court issued notices to him and other members of his family and party.

“The people’s court has been giving its decision again and again. It is better to wait for the judiciary’s verdict,” Mr Sharif said, in an apparent reference to the PTI’s call to lay siege to Islamabad on Nov 2.

The prime minister accused opposition parties of delaying the start of investigations through a proposed judicial commission and “sabotaging” all efforts made by the government to ensure a transparent inquiry into Panamagate.

PM Sharif recalled that the government had constituted a parliamentary committee to finalise the terms of reference (ToR) for a judicial commission, “but despite our all efforts, a consensus could not be achieved.”

The prime minister said the government had also presented a bill in parliament to replace the 60-year-old inquiry commission act in the light of Supreme Court’s remarks, to make the commission more effective and powerful. He also criticised the opposition for presenting its own bill on the Panamagate issue.

The prime minister said that besides addressing the nation twice on this subject, he had also presented his detailed viewpoint on the floor of the National Assembly. “But the other side continued to sabotage all sincere government efforts and created hurdles in the way of transparent and impartial inquiry,” he said.

Talking to Dawn, PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi termed Mr Sharif’s statement a “hoax”, saying they could not trust it.

“Our assessment is that they will use everything within their power to delay accountability. They delayed it for seven months by getting into the ToR and other issues,” Mr Qureshi said, adding that now, when the prime minister and his team members had been given notices to submit replies within 30 days, the government would find some excuse for adjournment.

“Our feeling is that their lawyers will say they need more time. They will use everything possible, every legal lacuna available to delay the battle,” he said.

Therefore, he said, his party had decided to continue their peaceful protest.

Declaring the prime minister “untrustworthy”, PTI Information Secretary Naeemul Haq said that PM Sharif would also try to hoodwink the courts as the government had done with the ECP.

Meanwhile, the PPP welcomed the issuance of notices to Mr Sharif and others and termed it “a positive development”.

However, PPP Spokesman Farhatullah Babar said that a petition in the Supreme Court was not a substitute for the comprehensive legislation that had been moved by opposition parties in the Senate.

“We need legislation to punish the corrupt practices on one hand and to put to an end to illegal transfers of funds out of the country, more so when the funds are of questionable origin,” Mr Babar told Dawn.

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2016