ORE names have been added to the registry of notoriety that has become the Panama Papers and once again a section of Pakistan`s wealthy class is facing uncomfortable questions. Yet, is action where allowed and required under the law imminent? Unhappily, aside from facing a media trial, the individuals named in the Panama Papers do not appear likely to face any immediate legal jeopardy or even a thorough investigation of their declared income and wealth. That situation is all the more astonishing given the public anger that has steadily grown since the Panama Papers first ensnared the political and moneyed class of the country. Pakistan, it appears, is a country where justified and sustained public anger does not lead to the people`s elected representatives taking the necessary steps to address real and ongoing problems that the people want addressed.

Part of the problem is clearly Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N. The ruling party has responded fiercely to the allegations against the first family, but in a thoroughly inappropriate political manner. Rather than acting immediately and incontrovertibly to reconcile the disclosures in the Panama Papers with the declared income and assets of the first family, the N-League has turned to a combination of patronage politics and delaying tactics to shield the Sharifs. The fundamental problem with the PML-N`s stance is that while it is protecting its prerogative to legislate and make new laws, it is unwilling to accept that Prime Minister Sharif should, therefore, be the first to be properly and fully vetted by an independent commission. In essence, Mr Sharif is arguing that as elected leader of the country he has significant privileges, but not commensurate responsibilities. That is a transparently undemocratic position to take.

Yet, try as it might and much as it may wish, the PML-N`s political problems are not likely to dissipate. It is a measure of the party`s reluctance to engage in true democratic behaviour that a decision by the prime minister to attend parliament later this week will likely be spun as a victory by the party. In truth, what the Panama Papers have revealed is more than a problem that can be addressed by a onetime judicial commission, no matter how empowered, independent and thorough it may be in its workings. It is an institutional failing across the board that has led to a situation where few are surprised by the revelations but little can be done to investigate and hold accountable the country`s wealthy individuals, especially among the political class. Statutory authorities such as the FBR and NAB are little more than a jumble of alphabets when they cannot act independently and meaningfully to detect and punish defrauding of the national exchequer. The Panama Papers could yet become a moment of reset for the country`s institutions but will the political class allow that to happen?