The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Thursday raided Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s central secretariat in Model Town, Lahore, in connection with former accountability court judge Arshad Malik’s video scandal case, a private TV channel reported.
PML-N leader Ata Tarar confirmed the FIA’s raid, adding that the agency took a computer hard drive in its custody. He said that the drive contained data related to PML-N’s internal matters. A four-member FIA team, including a female officer, conducted the raid, Tarar said, adding that the officials were allowed inside after they showed warrants. He said that the party had no prior information about the raid.
The purpose of the raid was to confiscate material related to the case, the TV channel reported.
“This is Imran Khan Niazi’s fascism and a machination of his vengeance,” Tarar said, alleging that the newly appointed director general of FIA, Wajid Zia, has ‘an anti-PML-N mindset’.
The FIA has summoned a number of PML-N leaders for inquiry in the case. The agency has asked Tarar to pay them a visit on Friday, whereas former information minister Parvaiz Rashid and Uzma Bukhari have been issued summons for December 30.
The PML-N, meanwhile, has decided to file a first information report (FIR) against FIA chief Wajid Zia, party spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said. A protest rally will also be held by the party on Friday.
Talking to media after the raid, Tarar said that the government has been provided with the ‘original video’ by Nasir Butt, the man in whom Malik had allegedly confided, but no forensic examination has been carried out. “Now you can examine the material you (FIA) have confiscated,” he said.
The PML-N office-bearer insisted that the raid was part of ‘revenge tactics’ by the government. “Even the Supreme Court said that Arshad Malik had disgraced the judiciary […] How much has he been interrogated that now raids are being conducted at our party secretariat and we are being issued notices?” he asked. “Nasir Butt went to the Pakistani High Commission in London, not once but many times, to submit the original video. But the high commission had directions from Imran Ahmed Niazi and the government not to receive the video,” Tarar alleged.
He said that the government had interfered in judge Malik’s removal as well, adding that Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to ‘spread confusion’. “He (prime minister) wants to lock up his political opponents through revenge tactics. We will not let this happen,” the PML-N leader said.
Tarar said that the ‘circumstances’ in which former FIA chief Bashir Memon had retired show that ‘he had refused to obey Imran Ahmed Niazi’s illegal directions and was punished for it’, after which Wajid Zia was appointed to the position.
In a strong reaction, Aurangzeb said the raid has ‘proved that judge Arshad Malik’s video is real’. “It has also been proved that [Malik] convicted Nawaz Sharif due to pressure. Now that they can’t find evidence in false corruption cases, they are using the FIA to pressurise [opponents],” she said. “The government is letting out its anger on judiciary’s decisions by conducting raids on PML-N secretariat without reason,” she said. “It is regrettable that even the offices of political opponents are being raided in order to exact political revenge,” she added.
