Fix Nawaz, spare Zardari, Musharraf, Tareen and others

ISLAMABAD: The opposition’s ToRs comprehensively cover Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his entire family, including parents, but smartly save besides others ex-president Asif Ali Zardari, former dictator General Pervez Musharraf and his two former leading lieutenants Jehangir Tareen and the Chaudhrys of Gujrat though they hold offshore wealth and companies.

General Musharraf, Jehangir Tareen, the Chaudhris of Gujrat and innumberable of their likes have been excluded from the scope of the opposition’s ToRs for the mere reason that their names did not appear in the PanamaLeaks.

The PanamaLeaks named Benazir Bhutto, the spouse of the former President Asif Ali Zardari. However, the opposition’s ToRs are defined in a manner that only in the case of Sharifs, the whole family is made to explain the sources of their foreign wealth.

As per the opposition ToRs, the spouse or children of late Benazir Bhutto can’t be questioned but in case of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, he himself, his parents, spouse, sons and daughters and even grandchildren are included in the definition of the family.

The Panama Papers named two sons and one daughter of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The late Benazir Bhutto and Rehman Malik have also been named in the PanamaLeaks.

Since the opposition’s ToRs have restricted the probe to offshore companies as revealed by the Panama Papers, the PTI leader Jehangir Tareen could not be questioned despite his admission that his children own London property through an offshore company because his name did not appear in the PanamaLeaks.

Another PTI leader Aleem Khan, however, could not escape the scope of the opposition’s ToRs because his name appears in the PanamaLeaks.

The ICIJ, which has published the PanamaLeaks, in the past had reported that Moonis Elahi, the son of former Punjab chief minister Pervez Elahi, got an offshore company Olive Grove Assets Ltd registered in his name in 2006 in British Virgin Island.

However, this influential political family also got a safe exit from the scope of opposition’s ToRs for the sole reason that Moonis Elahi’s offshore company has not been named in the PanamaLeaks.

General Musharraf, who is already known as above the law, owns offshore wealth which has not been declared by him in his income tax returns but he too can’t be probed for his foreign wealth under the opposition’s ToRs. General Musharraf reportedly has properties and bank accounts abroad but there is no report about him owning an offshore company.

The government’s ToRs sought probe into i) the offshore companies, foreign wealth, bank accounts of any Pakistani including those whose names have appeared in the PanamaLeaks, ii) writing off or default of bank loans by any public officeholder or any of his family member; iii) transfer from Pakistan of funds which have originated from corruption, commissions and kickbacks.

The opposition’s ToRs excluded all wrongs and corruption except the disclosures made by the PanamaLeaks.The opposition ToRs bound the judicial commission to start its probe from the prime minister and his family and complete the task in three or maximum four months. It says that later others named in the PanamaLeaks could be probed.

In the case of the prime minister and his family, according to the opposition’s ToRs, the report will be submitted to the government as soon as it is completed whereas in the case of others it would be completed in a year’s time.

It is not clear yet that despite squarely focusing on the prime minister’s case to be decided by the commission on priority, why the opposition did not include the cases of corruption, kickbacks, bank default and loan write-off cases and the offshore wealth and companies otherthan those reflected in the PanamaLeaks.

The PanamaLeaks name the three children of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in connection with the offshore companies, however, the opposition’s ToRs want through an act of parliament to define, “Respondent shall mean a Pakistani named in Panama Papers including the prime minister.” The ToRs further define, “Prime Minisrter shall refer to Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif”.