Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Anwar Zaheer Jamali on Friday refused the government's request to form a judicial commission to probe revelations made in the Panama leaks.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his April 22 state address had announced the writing of a letter to the chief justice to investigate allegations made against the premier's family in wake of the Panama Papers leak. The premier said the government would accept the recommendations presented by the commission.
Read more: Panama Leaks investigation: Govt writes letter to Chief Justice
The CJP wrote a letter informing the Ministry of Law about his decision, saying that no reply can be made to the government's earlier letter unless Terms of Reference for the commission are agreed upon and the names of people to be probed are provided.
Terms of Reference
Formally withdrawing their demand for the prime minister’s resignation, opposition parties last week finally agreed on a draft of the terms of reference (ToRs) for the judicial commission to investigate the allegations thrown up by the Panama Papers leaks.
Opposition parties want the formation of a three-member judicial commission — headed by the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) — through an act of parliament. The commission, they say, should first hold an inquiry against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and members of his family and will be given three months, extendable to four, to complete the task.
Only then, according to the opposition-drafted ToRs, can it start proceedings against other Pakistanis named in the Panama Papers and will have a year to complete this task.
Read more: Panama leaks inquiry: Stop judging me, PM tells opposition
Earlier, the government rejected the draft of the terms of reference (ToR) for an inquiry commission on the Panama Papers allegations.
The government indicated that it was willing to sit with the opposition to come up with terms of reference that were focused on eliminating corruption and did not target the prime minister personally.
