Shaukat Tarin is charged with obstructing a proposed IMF contract.

ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – Monday, the cyber crime division of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) opened an investigation against former federal finance minister Shaukat Tarin.

On the basis of Arshad Mehmood’s accusation, Mr. Tarin has been charged under the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PICA) for allegedly posting a viral recording on social media. Mr. Tarin was charged with seditious and provocative behaviour.

According to the FIR, Taimur Saleem Jhagra and Shaukat Tarin were having a chat with Mohsin Laghari in the purported audio leak that had circulated on the internet.

Tarin told Laghari, “The budget excess should not be returned to the federal government.”

— Sanaullah authorises the FIA to arrest Tarin

Sunday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaulah authorised the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to arrest former finance minister Shaukat Tarin after the conclusion of an investigation into his involvement in the audio leak case.

Saturday, the agency asked authorization from the ministry of the interior to commence legal procedures against Mr. Tarin and his incarceration, alleging that Shaukat Tarin’s chat was an effort to torpedo the IMF accord and that he intended to damage the country’s security and national interests.

Previously, recordings of PTI leader Shaukat Tarin emerged in which he purportedly urged the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance ministers to renege on their IMF pledges in order to exert pressure on the federal government.

In a few days, Imran will declare “Jail Bharo Tehreek.”

In a purported audio recording, Shaukat Tarin is heard stating that Rs750 billion promises must be retracted and that the lender must be informed that the commitment Punjab made before to the floods “cannot be honoured”

The PTI leader instructed the finance minister to prepare a letter and deliver it to him for approval before sending it to the federal government and then the IMF representative in Pakistan.

Laghari inquired, at Tarin’s request, if Pakistan would suffer if Punjab withdrew from the agreement.

“In all honesty, isn’t the state already suffering as a result of the manner in which they are treating your chairman [Khan] and everyone else? IMF will undoubtedly inquire where the funds will come from.” Tarin answered.

Sanaullah promises to safeguard the safety of foreign nationals.

He said that the Central Government was sending PTI leaders to prison and pursuing terrorist charges. Tarin said that this could not continue and that the party could not continue to be “mistreated” without responding. “We cannot be extorted.”

At a press conference in Karachi, the interior minister took a jab at deposed premier Imran Khan, stating that he and his stalwarts had been campaigning through false accusations to sow chaos in the country after his ouster, and that Shaukat Tarin had played a similar role and worked tirelessly to harm Pakistan under Khan’s direction. He added that the FIA had requested authorization from the government to arrest him, which was granted, and that he should be punished for it so that no one ever tries to do anything like again.

Rana Sanaullah said that the PTI was unable to disrupt the IMF accord despite its unscrupulous methods.

“Imran Khan is a ‘political terrorist,’ but as a result of our efforts, the nation will stay “secure from terrorists, especially political terrorists like him,” he said.