Pakistan - Khursheed Shah asks PM to present assets record to parliament

While continuously mounting pressure on the government, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah has asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to submit whole record of his foreign assets to the parliament.

“The Prime Minister should present all the documents of his foreign properties to the parliament, which he mentioned in his speech delivered on the floor of the National Assembly on 16 May,” Syed Khursheed Shah demanded this in a letter to National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in his speech on May 16, also suggested formation of a joint committee to draft the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for establishing a judicial commission to probe the allegations levelled against him in the Panama Leaks. “I have all the documents with me,” the PM had said during in his speech. Giving reference of his speech, he said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had mentioned that he had all the record of his factories in Jeddah and Dubai. “The Prime Minister had also suggested constitution of a joint committee to draft the ToRs for establishing a judicial commission to investigate the allegations against him,” Shah said in his letter, mentioning the documents presented to the court had already been shared in the Joint Investigation Report (JIT).

Shah said that Prime Minister had not mentioned any detail in the parliament as yet. “Sharif family has no answer to the questions raised,” he said adding the Sharif family instead of responding to the questions regarding money trail using delaying tactics.

Nonetheless, the Premier is confident that he will survive the Panamagate storm, as evident from his recent statements wherein he has repeatedly said that he “won’t resign at any cost, on anyone’s call”, he added.

After the JIT report was presented in the Supreme Court, it was an impression that the premier would have to go either voluntarily or through an adverse court order. But the situation is still not the same as predicted by political pundits because the government has challenged the report of joint investigation team by pointing out its deficiencies and flaws.