Ahmed Mukhtar Naqshbandi
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cybercrime wing on Monday filed a case against ex-finance minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shaukat Tarin for allegedly attempting to sabotage negotiations between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The case was filed on behalf of petitioner, Arshad Mahmood.
The agency had completed its probe against Tarin over his alleged telephonic conversations involving the former finance ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
FIA initiated probing the matter last year
The Federal Investigation Agency had initiated an inquiry into the matter last year after two audio leaks had surfaced in August in which a man, purportedly ex-minister Tarin, could be heard guiding two provincial finance ministers, belonging to the PTI, to tell the federal government and the IMF that they would not be able to commit to a provincial budget surplus owing to the devastating monsoon floods in Pakistan last year.
In a notice issued to Tarin in September 2022, the FIA said an inquiry had been initiated against the ex-finance minister’s alleged role on the basis of the audio leak.
The federal government on Sunday greenlighted the FIA to arrest Tarin.
