The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Monday booked former finance minister Shaukat Tarin in a sedition case pertaining to his alleged attempt to derail a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The case was filed against the former finance minister under Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) over his alleged audio leak that had surfaced on the internet.
The first information report (FIR), which was filed by Arshad Mehmood, stated that the audio leak was based on ill will. sections of sedition and provocation have been included in the FIR.
A day earlier, the coalition government allowed the FIA to arrest the former finance minister after the agency sought the interior ministry's nod to detain him.
The FIA completed its probe against Tarin and his leaked audios involving the former Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance ministers.
The federal probing authority initiated an inquiry into the matter last year after the alleged telephonic conversations between Tarin and the two provincial finance ministers surfaced that triggered a verbal spat between the government and the PTI for purportedly trying to jeopardise the IMF deal after the devastating floods.
Last year, ahead of IMF’s board meeting to approve Pakistan’s bailout package, the PTI leader allegedly made telephone calls to former Punjab and KP finance ministers asking them to write letters to the IMF withdrawing from the commitment for the surplus budget.
The leaked audio came to the fore on the day that the international lender's executive board was scheduled to meet for considering Pakistan's request of releasing the $1.2 billion tranche under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
