ISLAMABAD: Members of the parliamentary committee — six each from the government and opposition — formally met for the first time on Wednesday to formulate the terms of reference (ToR) for the proposed Panama­gate inquiry commission.

On the face of it, both sides look set to hold intense negotiations over the next couple of weeks, which is the deadline for working out the ToR under which investigations will be conducted.

Sources privy to the meeting and related political actors are of the view that while the opposition is looking to put Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his three children in the dock, the government’s position is diametrically opposed to this outcome.

It seems that this is going to be “a tough sell for both sides”.

Expecting caustic deliberations over the coming days, the official communiqué released after the meeting held at the chambers of the National Assembly speaker announced that “the committee unanimously decided that its proceedings shall be held in camera”.

The members will again meet today (Thursday) in Committee Room Number Five.

Talking to journalists outside the Parliament House, Senator Aitzaz Ahsan said that both sides had formally exchanged their respective ToR.

“Apart from their ToR, the government side provided us with copies of the letter the government had earlier written to the Supreme Court, and the reply sent to the government by the registrar of the apex court asking for the ToR to be revised,” said Mr Ahsan, who has been leading the opposition’s charge against the government over the Panama Papers.

Given their equal numbers, the committee decided against appointing a chairperson and will work on an ‘equality basis’. Its decisions, said Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi, would be made through a consensus.

“The only way forward for the committee is to reach an agreement, because unlike the usual workings of parliamentary committees, there will be no voting [here],” Mr Qureshi explained to Dawn when asked to clarify the decision-making procedures of the committee.

During their press talk, Mr Qureshi reiterated that no further members will be added to either side, come what may. But the official press release, issued later, mentioned the law minister as an ex-officio member, a fact to which the PTI leader later responded.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Qureshi said the government had suggested that Law Minister Zahid Hamid be made an ex-officio member of the committee. “In response, we said there will be no change in the number of committee members. If the government wants Mr Hamid in the committee, we have no objection, but he can only swap [with someone else].”

Senator Ahsan said the opposition wanted to first investigate the offshore accounts of the prime minister’s family, followed by the rest of the lot.

Whereas the government is of the view that alongside Panamagate, investigations should also be held against those who got their bank loans waived illegally as well as those facing allegations of receiving kickbacks or commissions.

Government ally Senator Hasil Khan Bizenjo told reporters that the meeting took place in a friendly atmosphere, and was hopeful of a positive outcome.

The opposition was represented by Senator Ahsan, Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, Senator Ilyas Ahmad Bilour, MNAs Tariq Bashir Cheema, Sahibzada Tariqullah and Shah Mehmood Qureshi, whereas Senator Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Asif, Khawaja Saad Rafiq and Mr Bizenjo attended the meeting from the government side. Anusha Rehman and Akram Khan Durrani were not present on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2016