Islamabad: The upper house of the Pakistan parliament on Friday unanimously approved a move to form a 12-member parliamentary committee to formulate terms of reference for an inquiry into the Panama leaks.
The 100-member Senate gave its approval a day after the lower house, the National Assembly, unanimously passed a resolution for the formation of the parliamentary committee.
National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq is to constitute the committee, which will include six members each from the government and opposition sides.
Senate chairman Raza Rabbani did not take part in the proceedings in protest because he said he had not been consulted regarding the formation of the parliamentary committee.
Earlier, after a meeting of opposition parties Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah announced that Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) will also be part of the opposition’s six-member team in the parliamentary committee.
MQM Senator Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif will represent the party, Shah told reporters.
The opposition leader urged Speaker Ayaz Sadiq to convene the first meeting of the 12-member committee on Monday.
The committee is to determine parameters for an inquiry covering various issues including offshore companies, transfer of funds originating from corruption, commission or kickbacks and loan defaults.
The committee will submit a report to the parliament within two weeks after starting its work.
The Panma Papers mentioned names of hundreds of Pakistanis owning offshore assets, including children of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
