ISLAMABAD - The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Monday booked PTI leader and former finance minister Senator Shaukat Tarin in a sedition case for allegedly derailing the federal government’s deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). FIA’s Cyber Crime Reporting Centre in Islamabad registered the case against Tarin under Section 20 of Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016 and sections 124-A and 505 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on the conclusion of a formal enquiry and after approval of the competent authority. Consequent upon the conclusion of the enquiry, it transpired that the accused Syed Shaukat Fayaz Ahmed Tarin … with malafide intentions and ulterior motives, induced sitting Provincial Ministers of Finance of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa i.e., Mr. Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra and Mr. Muhammad Mohsin Khan Leghari,” said the first information report (FIR). The FIR further says that the two audio clips of the former finance minister’s telephonic conversation with Leghari and Jhagra, which had gone viral in August last year, were thoroughly heard and analyzed. It said that the accused clearly asked the finance ministers to write letters stating their respective ministries will not (be) returning surplus budget to the federal government which will critically affect the then ongoing deals between government and IMF regarding the economic situation of the state. It says during the enquiry, Tarin was summoned and questioned regarding contents of alleged audio clips for which he could not provide satisfactory answers which implied that the accused was hiding the facts and lying about his intentions and motive behind the alleged conversation. “Such mischievous acts may lead in disrupting the public tranquillity and create an ill will among pillars of state and likely to cause a sense of fear, alarm and intimidation to every citizen of state due to economic situation of Pakistan, thus, the alleged conversation is considered as an act of sedition against the State” it reads. A day earlier, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan had said that the Ministry of Interior has given approval to FIA to arrest Tarin for allegedly sabotaging negotiations between Pakistan and IMF. Meanwhile, the opposition PTI protested in the Senate against the possible arrest of Senator Tarin.
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Leader of the Opposition in the House Dr Shahzad Waseem raising the issue accused the interior minister for focusing on the witch-hunt of politicians and his party leaders instead of concentrating on his primary responsibility of maintaining law and order in the country. On one hand, the country is in the grip of terrorism and on the other hand, the interior minister was in the habit of giving statements of making arrests and investigating audio and video calls, he added. PTI Senator Waseem said that the latest statement of the minister came up a day earlier about allowing the arrest of a member of this house, who has been finance minister. “They are going to set the worst example of fascism in the country,” he said. He said in the same breath that the government was doing so because Tarin, being a financial expert, used to criticize the federal government’s economic policies and censure the rulers that they were pushing the country towards economic disaster. The leader of opposition said how the provinces could run surplus when they were not paid their outstanding funds by the centre while they faced post-flood challenge. He wondered how this could be called an anti-state position, if provinces say they can’t go for surplus, as was committed earlier.
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Minister of State for Law and Justice Senator Shahadat Awan in his reply explained that the FIA was an independent organization. He said that a legal procedure was going on and there should be no apprehensions. “Let us have faith in the law.” He said that if the two audio leaks of Tarin were true, a stringent punishment should be awarded to him. He added that the matter was linked with national security. On this, the opposition leader and other PTI senators continued interrupting the minister for state. The minister kept on insisting that he only questioned if a crime against the country’s interests had been committed. But the opposition lawmakers continued with their protest compelling the chair to adjourn the house till today.