FAZAL SHER

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has summoned former finance minister Shaukat Tarin for an investigation into his leaked conversation with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Finance Minister Taimoor Saleem Jhagra.

According to a notice issued by the agency to Tarin, an inquiry has been initiated against him on the basis of a voice call that was made by him to Jaghra in which he is provoking him to write a letter to the federal government on behalf of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government will not return extra money of fiscal budget so that interruption may be created between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the government of Pakistan.

“Therefore, you are directed to appear in person before the undersigned to record your statement in your defence at the agency Cybercrime Reporting Centre at 10:00 am on September 21, (today). In case of non-appearance, it will be assumed that you have nothing to present or state in your defence and procedure under section 174 of PPC 1860 will be initiated against you,” it says.

Last month, two audio clips surfaced via TV channels and social media in which a man said to be Tarin can be heard guiding Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab’s finance ministers to tell the federal government and the IMF that they would not be able to commit to a provincial budget surplus in light of the recent floods that have wreak havoc in Pakistan.