Pakistan govt fails to take action against people exposed in Pandora Papers: IFFRAS report

A Canadian think tank stated in its report that Prime Minister Imran Khan-led Pakistani government has failed to take any action despite the exposure of several officials in the Pandora Papers. Islamabad is missing a big opportunity to clean up its mess, according to the International Forum For Rights And Security (IFFRAS). The Pandora document is a 2.94-terabyte data trove that reveals the offshore secrets of wealthy elites from over 200 countries and territories, including Pakistan. Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin and Senator Faisal Vawda are among the important officials in Imran Khan's government whose names have been exposed in the documents, ANI reported citing Dawn on Wednesday.

The IFFRAS stated that Imran Khan continues to plead to the international community to assist Pakistan in preventing and recovering from illicit money outflows. However, he sends a contradicting message about his own duties, as his administration has taken no action against people mentioned in the expose, the report stated. According to the think tank, neither any political party approached the country's top court nor any Pakistani agencies launched any investigation against names that have been exposed.

The Pandora leaks were also used for political purposes in Pakistan, according to IFFRAS, with the Imran Khan government repeating its anti-corruption rhetoric and announcing the formation of a high-powered cell to investigate the leaks. Earlier in the month of October, PM Khan had announced that he will establish an investigation agency to probe the names of all those involved in the records. But Pakistan's opposition party slammed the ruling government, calling his investigation cell "a hoax", Dawn reported.

Pak ruling govt's officials allegedly moved millions of dollars of wealth through offshore companies

It is pertinent to mention here that Imran Khan was elected in 2018 on a promise to detain Pakistan's "corrupt" political elites. However, Khan's government's prominent members, including donors to his ruling party and families of military generals, have allegedly moved millions of dollars of wealth through offshore companies in less than three years, according to the investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Pakistan's Water Resources Minister Moonis Elahi and Finance Minister Tarin were among over 700 other Pakistani citizens in the Pandora Papers leak. While the ownership of offshore holding companies is legal, the instrument is most frequently used to avoid tax liability or to keep huge financial transactions under the table, Dawn reported.

(With ANI inputs)

Image: PTI