Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan Tuesday said the ministers and government officials should resign if the burden of proof, prima facie, lies with them.
Speaking to a local media channel, Ali Muhammad said that the ministers could perform their duties until fixation of the responsibility.
Currently, the Pandora Papers are at the stage of initial investigations. If the burden of proof lies with the ministers, “they cannot keep their portfolios morally,” he added.
Replying to a question, he said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has tasked the FBR, the FIA and the NAB with investigating revelations made in the Pandora Papers.
The NAB is an autonomous body. They have forwarded the case to the anti-graft watchdog and now it is up to them to take the case or not.
“We had no idea whose names have been mentioned in the Pandora Papers,” the minister said, adding that most of the people named in the papers have already declared their assets.
It seemed that the ministers will have to face no problem from the Pandora Papers.
Replying to another question about the Panama Papers, he said that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had not declared his London flats in his documents submitted to the government.
The prime minister had formed a special, high-level commission to probe the Pandora Papers exposé, he said, adding that the commission will probe the assets and money trail of those named in the report.
