Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan on Tuesday said that the ministers and government officials named in the Pandora Papers should resign if the burden of proof lies with them.
Talking to a news outlet, Ali said that the ministers could perform their duties until fixation of their responsibilities.
“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 said.
The minister said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed the FBR, FIA and NAB to investigate revelations made in the Pandora Papers.
He said that the NAB is an autonomous body and the government has referred the case to the anti-graft watchdog, adding that now it is up to the NAB to take up the case or not.
“We had no idea whose names are mentioned in the Pandora Papers,” the minister said, adding that most of the people named in the expose have already declared their assets and the ministers will not face any problem from the papers.
Ali said that the prime minister has formed a special commission to probe the assets and money trail of those named in the Pandora Papers.
To a 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.
