ISLAMABAD. The eighth meeting of the parliamentary committee on Panama Papers turned out to be a non-starter.

Going by the statements coming from both the government and opposition, neither side had budged from its stated position over whether to begin the inquiry from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his three children.

No matter what happens, it seems the government is not prepared to let the prime minister be grilled by investigators.

On the other hand, the opposition alliance thinks that without directly linking the PM to Panama leaks, they will achieve nothing politically.

Ministers said in so many words that both the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Pakistan Peoples Party only wanted to target the prime minister.The nine-party opposition bloc argues, however, that without including the PM`s name in the terms of reference (ToR) for the proposed Panama Papers commission, the whole exercise will be futile.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, PPP Senator Aitzaz Ahsan said that despite flexibility shown by the opposition, the government was unwilling to listen to its demands. The veteran lawmaker said that opposition parties had decided to go back to their respective leaderships before the next sitting.

`There is much to tell about the [in-camera] meeting, which will be shared with the public at an appropriate time. But the fact remains that throughout the last eight meetings, no development has taken place on the formulation of ToR, Senator Ahsan said.

The PTI`s Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the committee formed to decide the terms of reference of the commission was practically deadlocked. Since various opposition parties were part of the alliance, Mr Qureshi said, `we have decided to consult our respective leaderships before getting back to the committee`.Of course, the government has a different explanation.

Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, in his remarks to the media outside Parliament House, said that two opposition parties (PPP and PTI) were fixated on the prime minister`s name and were least interested in framing the ToR.

`Whatever documents the opposition has laid down before the committee have more to do with proving one person guilty than the formulation of ToR,` he said.

`The basic purpose of this committee was to come up with a mutually-agreed framework for investigations against all those who are involved in laundering money gotten through illegal means, and using Panamagate as [a starting point] the government wants to make a permanent law,` the minister said.

Opposition parties met twice outside the committee meeting, once before and once afterwards.

Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told reporters later that despite their best ef forts, the government had failed to `create divisions within our ranks and so far we are all standing together`.

Outside the halls of power, the PPP toughenedits standon the issue.

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari tweeted that his party wouldn`t change its stance and would push for investigations against the prime minister and his family.

In a talk show, PPP MNA Nadeem Afzal Chan said his party was prepared to go to any extent if the government resisted the opposition`s demand for an impartial probe into the Panama Papers revelations. When pressed, Mr Chan said the party wouldn`t shy away from quitting the assemblies if push came to shove.

According to an official statement released after the meeting, the Awami National Party`s Senator Ilyas Ahmad Bilour circulated copies of a document titled `The additional powers of the commission` on his own behalf. The government also circulated copies of a document beginning with `The inquiry commission shall have the following terms of reference`.

The committee also discussed the bill titled `The Commissions of Inquiry Act, 2016` drafted by the government side in keeping with the opposition`s demand for a specific law under which the investigations would be held.