RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has said that extension given to director general Intelligence Bureau (IB) by the government was meant to influence state institutions which Sharif administration has been doing for the last several years.

PTI Secretary General Jahangir Tareen in a statement issued, here on Tuesday said that probe against the first family is being hindered through state institutions. He said that the DG IB who is working on extension should step down.

The Supreme Court has also questioned the alleged surveillance of members of Joint Investigation Team (JIT) by IB. Dissatisfied with the IB’s reply in response to the allegations levelled against it by the JIT, the three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan was critical of the agency’s role in hacking the Facebook account of a JIT member, loitering around his residence and accessing the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) system to collect his personal data.

Earlier, in a meeting PTI’s Central Executive Committee headed by Imran Khan, also discussed the role of IB, which has been accused of spying on the JIT members probing offshore assets of Sharif family.

A senior PTI leader who wished not to be named said, “If this remains the attitude of the IB, we will be forced to approach the apex court to tighten the noose around it as spying on JIT members nominated by top court of the country is not acceptable. We took stock of the situation, as there are reports that the chief spymaster of IB is dancing to the tunes of the Prime Minister [Nawaz Sharif], which is dishonesty with his profession, as he should perform his job according to the Constitution”.

Any attempt by the government to intimidate the JIT members, he warned, will cost the government dearly, as the whole nation is anxiously waiting for JIT report as it will be the tuning point in history of the country in getting rid of ‘godfather of corruption’.