A Pakistani living in Malta is jubilant that his country’s top court has disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from office after a damning corruption probe, and he draws parallels between the situations in the two countries.
Riaz, a financial controller with a local company, is in the unique position of having witnessed the fallout from the Panama Papers in both Pakistan and Malta.
Speaking to The Sunday Times of Malta a day after news of Mr Sharif’s dismissal, he said that he could not be happier with the outcome of the probe that finally brought about much-needed change in his country.
“Like most people in Pakistan, I am very happy with the outcome. Sharif has been in politics for many years, and there have always been allegations of corruption, however, nobody could really find out much,” he said.
This all changed last year after the Panama Papers scandal, he went on, as the revelations in the data leaks had finally supplied “good leads”.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), through the Panama Papers, revealed that Mr Sharif’s family had bought expensive London apartments through offshore companies. Mr Sharif, 67, has always denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the investigations as biased and inaccurate.
The difference is in Pakistan, the PM did not call an election, though if he had, he would also have won, because these people always have support
He is the second prime minister to have stepped down after revelations in the Panama Papers, with Icelandic prime minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson giving up his post last year when it was revealed he and his wife had hidden millions of dollars’ worth of investments offshore.
The Pakistani Supreme Court’s decision to remove Mr Sharif, cutting short his third stint in power, has been welcomed by the majority of people in Pakistan, as well as those living abroad, Mr Riaz said.
“We want the people who are in top positions, in any country, to be clean, and so we are very happy about this. Our only concern is that there could be some instability as a result of this, but nonetheless, all government officials should be held accountable.”
In Malta, the Panama Papers revealed that the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri, and Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi both held secret offshore structures. The two insist they were created for family planning reasons and that no bank accounts were ever opened for them.
A court last week upheld Opposition leader Simon Busuttil’s request for a criminal investigation into whether Mr Schembri and Dr Mizzi broke money-laundering laws when they opened secret Panama companies. The request also called for an investigation into the Prime Minister.
“The two cases are very similar, where top government officials are accused of being involved in corrupt activities,” said Mr Riaz.
“The only difference is that in Pakistan, the Prime Minister did not call an election.
“At the same time, I do believe that if Mr Sharif had called an election, he would also have won, like Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, because these people will always have support.”
Following Friday’s announcement, the Nationalist Party also highlighted similarities in the situations in Malta and Pakistan. In a statement, the party said the South Asian country was “now giving us lessons on justice”.
“Instead of the best in Europe, Joseph Muscat has made us worse than Pakistan when it comes to matters of justice,” the PN said.