FIA raids PML-N office, confiscates Arshad Malik’s video record

LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Thursday raided the PML-N Secretariat here and confiscated record pertaining to the video scandal of former accountability court judge Arshad Malik, Ataullah Tarar, PML-N deputy secretary general, claimed.

An FIA team consisting of four members including a female officer conducted the raid, Tarar said, adding that the officials were allowed inside after they showed warrants. He said the party had no prior information about the raid.

He revealed that the raid was conducted to confiscate material related to a press conference conducted by PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz. In July, Maryam had held a press conference where she played a secretly-recorded video in which former accountability judge Arshad Malik was allegedly seen, saying that he was pressured to convict former premier Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia corruption reference.

Malik was removed by the Islamabad High Court and was repatriated to the Lahore High Court, where an inquiry would be held into the accusations against the judge. On this issue, the FIA did not release any statement. PML-N Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb condemning the FIA raid said the party will hold a rally to protest against this unlawful act of harassment, vandalism, violation of law and constitutional rights. She said the party has decided to lodge an FIR of dacoity against Wajid Zia. This illegal raid by the FIA proved that everything Bashir Ahmed Memon said was true to the last word. This also proved that the video of judge Malik was absolutely authentic and he sentenced Nawaz Sharif under pressure.

This raid, Marriyum said, was conducted on the orders of Imran Khan just because this imposed regime of a selected prime minister could not find a single evidence of corruption. He has now stooped down further to use the FIA to harass the PML-N.

The former information minister said the former DG FIA had refused to be an instrument of Imran Khan’s political victimization after which the infamous ‘gems from the JIT’ were once again called to rip the Constitution, law and order of the republic to pieces to carry out whatever order the selected prime minister dispenses, she said.

The failed government is trying to nullify its embarrassment and shame over lost cases in the court against PML-N leaders by carrying out unlawful and unconstitutional raids on the PML-N offices. This attack on the PML-N Secretariat is a sign of absolute panic and frustration of Imran Khan, she stated, adding that he has lost his mind and whatever ounce of sanity he had, after losing all of his fake cases of corruption against the opposition leaders. Such acts of hooliganism cannot deter the PML-N. Imran has now corrupted a second institution FIA after using the NAB as a tool of his political victimization.

Talking to the media after the raid, Ataullah Tarar, deputy secretary general of the party, said the government had been provided with the “original video” by Nasir Butt, the man to whom Malik had allegedly confided, but no forensic examination had been carried out. “Now you can examine the material you (FIA) have confiscated today,” he said. The PML-N office-bearer insisted that the raid was part of “revenge tactics” by the government. “Even the Supreme Court of Pakistan said that Arshad Malik had disgraced the judiciary.

How much he has been interrogated that now raids are being conducted on 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 the government had interfered in 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 the “circumstances” in which former FIA chief Bashir Memon had retired shows 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.

PML-N Punjab Information Secretary Azma Bukhari condemned the FIA raid, saying that the FIA had become the third partner in the NAB-Niazi nexus to victimize the PML-N and silence its voice against corruption, mismanagement and bad performance of the government.

She termed it beyond comprehension to conduct a raid on the PML-N Secretariat when the FIA had already served them with notices to appear before the agency. “The head of a WhatsApp JIT is now conducting raids on the PML-N to save his new job,” she said.

She said Prime Minister Imran Khan is setting a wrong tradition of using state institutions to exert pressure on the opposition, as the same institutions would raid Imran Khan’s house. “The raids on the PML-N leadership will prove too costly for Imran Khan,” she added.

It is worth-mentioning that the FIA has summoned PML-N Senator Pervaiz Rasheed and Azma Bukhari in case of judge Arshad Malik’s video on December 27 and 30 respectively.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.