Panamagate and beyond

Since the Panama leaks broke out, events have taken on the nature of a movie thriller. At the receiving end ever since the revelations named his children, PM Nawaz Sharif has been on the defensive. As a counter-measure, he first appeared on national TV twice and later flew to London for a medical, some say legal, check-up. Responding to relentless calls to step down he then hit the road and  announced a judicial commission headed by the Chief Justice. But the move boomeranged as the CJ, on his return from abroad, refused to have to do anything with the commission.
The latest turn in the ongoing drama is the revelation that Imran Khan, who is the chief accuser and principal tormentor of Nawaz Sharif, is also the owner of an off-shore company which he formed way back in the 80’s. This has prompted information czar Pervaiz Rashid to charge the the PTI chief is the pioneer of off-shore companies in Pakistan.
Apparently, the PTI seems to have lost the high moral ground on the issue of the Panama Papers. But one should not overlook the basic difference between the two situations. While Nawaz is accused of siphoning off public money and hiding it in foreign banks through off-shore companies registered in his children’s names, Imran Khan took the course to save taxes on his income from cricket in England.
But the war of words is on with each side accusing the other of being the chief culprit. Imran Khan’s admission that he once owned an offshore company has provided the much-needed ammunition to the government. Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid came out all guns blazing last week and called the PTI chief “Baba Adam” of off-shore companies.
In the midst of all this, Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali’s refusal to form a judicial commission has left the government in a quandary. The CJ has described the terms of reference as too wide and open-ended which would render the commission "toothless". He also said that a powerless commission to probe the Panama leaks will cause nothing but disgrace to the judiciary.
The Supreme Court Bar Association has termed the reply of the Chief Justice of Pakistan correct, saying that the ToRs given by the government are defective and do not give the required powers to the commission to conduct an independent investigation. In the meantime, the Pakistan Bar Council has urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice of the Panama leaks. The lawyers’ association also called upon the prime minister and his children to provide the money trail leading to the off-shore assets from 1985 to date.
According to the latest development, the government has now decided to contact opposition parties to evolve a consensus on the terms of reference (ToR) for the Panama commission. Independent experts are of the opinion that the political storm kicked up by the Panama Papers  will not die down unless two things are ensured. First, the judicial commission must be fully empowered to seek whatever material it deems necessary. It should also be authorized to seek the help and assistance of NAB, FIA, FBR and other government agencies  and use all state resources to acquire information from abroad, including help from foreign audit firms and forensic experts trained to track the money laundering trail. Second, the commission should be mandated to complete its work within a reasonable time span.
Needless to say, there is no dearth of legal talent in the country which should be fully utilized to draw up the disputed terms of reference and a framework for the commission that meets the ends of justice and accommodates the points of view of both the opposition and the government. As one analyst has succinctly put it, the Panama leaks signify a turning point in Pakistan’s history. No other event has put the focus on the cancer of corruption in Pakistan as sharply as the Panama Papers have done. Irrespective of the names in the Panama leaks, the revelations have shown how the members of  Pakistan’s ruling elite belonging to politics, business and other sector have looted the country and stashed their ill-gotten gains in foreign banks to the detriment of Pakistan’s fragile economy and its poor, hungry masses.
All plunderers need to be brought to book if the country has to turn a new leaf in its search for a prosperous and dignified life for its teeming millions. Everyone named in the Panama leaks must be thoroughly investigated and brought to justice. But the process to be credible must start with Nawaz Sharif who holds the reins of the government for the third time in the last 25 years. He has been at the helm for so long. As such, more than anybody else he has to account for what went wrong and why the country is in such a miserable state. And also, how come his wealth has multiplied manifold, while the country has become poorer and poorer.