ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Monday booked former finance minister Shaukat Tarin in a sedition case for the role he allegedly played to “derail a deal” with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“Consequent upon the conclusion of enquiry No 757/2022 of FIA, Cyber Crime Reporting Centre, Islamabad, it transpired that the accused Syed Shaukat Fayaz Ahmed Tareen…with mala fide intentions and ulterior motives, induced sitting provincial ministers of finance of Punjab and KP i.e. Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra and Muhammad Mohsin Khan Leghari,” the first information report (FIR), a copy of which is available with Dawn, said.

The FIR said that the two audio clips of the former finance minister’s telephonic conversation with Mr Leghari and Mr Jhagra, which had gone viral, were “thoroughly heard and analysed”. The accused clearly asked the finance ministers to write letters stating their respective ministries will not be returning the surplus budget to the federal government which will critically affect the then ongoing talks between the government and the Fund, the FIR stated.

It said Mr Tarin could not “provide satisfactory answers” which implied that the accused was “hiding the facts and lying about his intentions”. “Such mischievous acts may lead to disrupting the public tranquility 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 read.

Uproar in Senate after registration of FIR against PTI leader over leaked audio

It says prima facie, a case u/s 20 (malicious code) of Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 read with sections 124-A and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) is made out against the accused. “Competent authority has accorded the permission for registration of FIR so the case is registered. Role of other involved persons, if any, will be thrashed out during the investigation,” it reads.

The development came a day after interior minister confirmed that a go-ahead had been given to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to arrest ex-finance minister PTI Senator Shaukat Tarin.

‘Protest in Senate’

In light of Senator Tarin’s probable arrest, PTI senators lodged a strong protest during the session of the upper house. The issue was raised by the leader of the opposition, Dr Shahzad Wasim, who referred to the remarks made by Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah about Mr Tarin and termed them a part of a “witch-hunt”. He said the government’s priorities were contrary to the ground realities; instead of doing his “serious job”, the interior minister issues a new statement every day regarding arrests of rivals.

Senator Wasim described it “worst example of fascism”. He wondered what was the fault of Senator Tarin that he was “being arrested”. He asked if this was due to criticism levelled by Senator Tarin on the government’s economic policies.

“They want to arrest Tarin on the basis of an audio tape about which no one knows what it is…a cut and paste…then finance minister talked about giving financial rights to the provinces and what the Centre owed to them while the floods had played havoc with provinces and had to cope with the dire situation with limited resources,” he explained.

He asked how the provinces could pay surplus when they were not paid due amounts by the Centre as they faced post-flood challenges. He wondered how this could be called an anti-state position.

He also slammed the government for what he said was a campaign against the judiciary. This was a reference to PML-N Senator Irfanul Haq Siddiqui objecting to the chief justice’s alleged remarks about an ‘incomplete parliament’ and ‘one honest’ prime minister in Pakistan’s history.

Minister of State for Law and Justice Shahadat Awan in his reply explained that the FIA had completed an inquiry against Mr Tarin and had sought permission from the ministry concerned in line with the provisions of the FIA act. In an allusion to the purported audio of Mr Tarin, he said, “If this is true, a stringent punishment should be awarded to him.”

Amid heckling by PTI senators, he added that the issue was linked to national security. The protest turned out to be noisier after the minister’s remarks about ‘strict punishment’. The minister kept on insisting that he had said this only if a crime against the country’s interests had been committed, but the protest continued, compelling the chair to adjourn the house till 10 am today.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2023