Reko Diq, Broadsheet LLC cases: opposition lawmakers demand parliamentary commission to probe

The PML-N and PPP lawmakers in National Assembly on Tuesday demanded to form a parliamentary commission to probe into Reko-Diq and Broadsheet LLC awards against Pakistan, which further pushed the already debt-ridden country towards worsen economic crises. The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) of World Bank has rendered almost $6 billion (Rs 950 billion) award against Pakistan in Reko Diq case, while the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) in another case rendered almost $33 million award (Rs 5.21 billion) against Pakistan in the Broadsheet LLC case.
Speaking at a single day National Assembly session requisitioned bye the opposition to discuss non-issuance of production orders for detained MNAs, the opposition lawmakers said no politician was involved in Reko Diq and it was former CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry who made the multibillion dollars project controversial and he should be investigated.
PPP leader and former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf talked about the hefty award of $5.976 billion announced by the ICSID against Pakistan in the Reko Diq case, saying that no politician could be blamed for the dispute. He accused Iftikhar Chaudhry of passing a verdict that declared the Chagai Hills Exploration Joint Venture Agreement, signed between the Balochistan government and Australian mining company BHP in 1993, in conflict with the laws of the country to satisfy his 'inflated' ego.
Ashraf said the terms of reference of the commission, that is to be formed on the prime minister's directions, should be finalised and approved by the Parliament. He also called for a joint sitting of the Parliament to discuss the case, saying responsibility should be fixed against those involved in these cases.
PML-N leader Khawaja Asif endorsed Ashraf and said that all the international projects in which Pakistan was slapped with penalties should be probed whether it is a mistake of a politician, a judge or a general. "I fully endorse Pervez Ashraf as a commission should be formed to expose those behind all this as some people gave verdicts without knowing anything about its implication which we are bearing today," he said in an obvious reference to the former chief justice's verdict in Reko Diq case.
Asif accused the government of pursuing a vendetta against opposition leaders and called for 'even-handed' accountability. He said that former accountability court Judge Arshad Malik has been sent back while Nawaz Sharif is still in jail, which shows what's going on under the pretext of accountability. "I don't want to comment on the matter as it is in the court, and I respect the judiciary and the judicial process. I don't just have respect, I have complete trust that our judicial system will fulfill all requirements of justice," he said, before pointing out that the former premier - who was convicted for corruption and is currently in jail - remains imprisoned thanks to a verdict passed by the judge in question.
"There is no allegation of corruption against Nawaz Sharif," Asif insisted, adding that Sharif was disqualified due to an undeclared salary. Asif also condemned the case against PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah, who was arrested by Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) earlier this month. ANF officials claimed that a large quantity of drugs was recovered from Sanaullah's car.
"Mr Speaker! if you read the FIR, it is ridiculous," Asif said, adding, "It says that he (Sanaullah) turned around and picked up 20 kilograms of heroin... does he look like he can lift 20 kg?" he said. "A man who has been an MPA and an MNA and is also a lawyer, had been subjected to worst kind of torture in 2002-03 [during General Musharraf regime] and has been accused of carrying heroin," he said, adding that Sanaullah had told the PML-M not to ask for his production orders.
"The venom of vendetta can eat people up," Asif told the Parliament. "If we talk about something else, they will say that we are asking for NRO. We are not asking for an NRO, we will fight this battle till the end [...] but this battle will damage the Pakistani people, the Constitution and this constitutional model of which we are a part," he said. Responding to comments regarding the case against Sanaullah, State Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Shehryar Afridi said the ANF had complete evidence to prove charges levelled against the PML-N leader.
He said Sanaullah "was caught red-handed after three weeks of surveillance" by the ANF and added that the anti-narcotic force had video footage as well as other evidence that will be produced in the court. "Rana Sanaullah should not play politics [over this]. He should face the courts," he said. Afridi said the ANF is a professional force with a conviction rate of 98 percent and vowed that an example will be made out of anyone who takes the law into his hands and violates the Constitution.