ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE/KARACHI: The Cybercrime Circle of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has summoned PTI leaders Barrister Gohar, Umar Ayub and Raoof Hasan on Wednesday after denial of a controversial post on Imran Khan’s X account about the state institutions, according to FIA sources.
On May 26, Imran’s official account shared a video along with a quote attributed to him, asking who was the true traitor, General Yahya Khan or Sheikh Mujibur Rahman? The post generated intense controversy. An investigation has been launched by the FIA Cybercrime Wing into the post.
In a statement issued after its core committee meeting, the PTI claimed that the FIA was hell-bent on making another case against Imran. An FIA team visited the Adiala jail on Friday to quiz the PTI founder regarding the post. However, sources said Imran refused to meet the investigators, saying that he would only meet them in the presence of his lawyers.
Notices issued to Gohar, Ayub and Raoof by the FIA said an inquiry was initiated regarding the misapplication of Imran’s verified X account through which highly hateful and inciting content against state institutions was shared. The notices said the PTI trio was directed to appear in person before FIA Sub-Inspector Monib Zafar to record their statements in their defence at the FIA Cybercrime Reporting Centre on Wednesday in the interest of justice.
“In case of non-appearance, proceedings u/s 174 PPC will be initiated against you,” the notices said. Raoof has confirmed receiving the notice and said they would join investigations to give their point of view.
Meanwhile, Punjab Minister for Information & Culture Azma Bokhari has said the PTI founder is behind the conspiracy against Pakistan. “He cannot bring any revolution by sitting in the Adiala jail. He should call his children from London.”
Azma claimed there was an element of favouritism in the judiciary that had badly affected it.
“Imran Khan wants an ‘NRO’ again. Today, dividing the country into two parts is being talked about by sitting in Pakistan. We are taking care of the problem of black bees which are biting the prosecution. Imran Khan should not behave like a coward and should confess to the controversial video he shared.”
Azma expressed these views while holding a press conference at the DGPR Office in Lahore on Saturday. She said be it the army or the chief justice, digital terrorism was done against them. One feels profoundly grieved when the country got partitioned in 1971 and the PTI is trying to politicize this tragic incident. “The Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission was constituted in 1971. Now they want to infuse hatred into the minds of next generations against the army by recalling the Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission Report. They want to infuse a narrative of their own. The country is being damaged by the violent thinking of PTI founder.”
The Punjab minister added: “Now another plan like May 9 is in his mind. Raoof Hassan has himself talked about dismemberment of Pakistan. Zain Qureshi has spilled the beans by stating that every work in the PTI is done with the approval of its founder. He has himself congratulated his social media team. Naeem Panjotha and Zartaj Azeez are tweeting to divide Pakistan into two parts. The Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission has been taught to the young generation and they should also be taught about 190 million pounds corruption and Toshakhana cases.”
She said the prayers of the nation and participation of other players were part in the triumph of the 1992 Cricket World Cup and it was not the sole achievement of the PTI founder. At times, he talks about making Pakistan a Sri Lanka and sometimes talks about rolling back the nuclear program. “I earnestly request parents to prevent their children from becoming part of this person’s politics of anarchy and chaos. When the states start working, the black bees start fighting. In our cases, the bench used to be broken after one and a half years even for interim bails. The Taliban have more moral values than the PTI founder as at least they stick to their words.”
Meanwhile, PMLN leader Senator Irfan Siddiqui said there was no harm in reading the Hamood-ur- Rehman Commission report, but the harm lies in the intention and mental attitude that woke up after 53 years. He took to the social media handle X on Saturday and posted that the PTI was in power for four years and why it did not publicize this report. “There is still time and he (Imran Khan) can satisfy himself by making it part of the curriculum of educational institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”
Later, talking to The News, Siddiqui said the only aim of the PTI and its founder was to target the armed forces. “Imran Khan’s rhetoric might be setting a stage for another incident like May 9,” he said, referring to the last year’s violent attacks by PTI workers on national institutions and monuments.
On the other hand, former president Dr Arif Alvi on Saturday urged the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leadership to focus on possibilities and finding a middle ground. Speaking at a convention “Rule of Law” held at the City Courts in Karachi, he stressed that there could be no viable solution until genuine stakeholders, including incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan and not puppets, are brought to the table. “There will be no progress until a meaningful dialogue is held,” he said while addressing the convention organised by the Insaf Lawyers Forum (ILF).
“We are optimists. We never become pessimists. I appeal to the PTI leadership to find a middle ground and find possibilities. Focus on possibilities to see where paths may open,” Alvi suggested, adding that there would no success without resistance and toil. He called for taking a “bird’s eye view” of the prevailing situation, and what the neighbouring countries and international community thought of Pakistan, learning from past mistakes and then “zooming in” on focusing on where the solution lies.
“Let’s move forward for the nation’s sake,” he urged, remarking that it was not just a matter of apology but it was also about ego. He emphasized that the country’s economy won’t improve without honouring people’s mandate.
The former president said that Imran Khan had not caused polarisation; instead, it was due to the elite capture. Terrorism laws were intended to punish terrorists, but they are being used against everyone except terrorists. “I didn’t claim presidential immunity while in office and appeared in courts,” he said, lamenting that the laws enacted for accountability were being misused. He defended the PTI founder’s call to read the Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission report, saying that it presented an opportunity to those in power to learn from the past. “What is wrong in reading the Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission report?” he asked.
“I salute Bhutto Sahib for not publishing the commission’s report. He chose to cover up the mistakes made by the army, yet what happened to him? He was hanged. Civilians always covered up the mistakes,” he said, adding that Khan Ghaffar, Wali Khan and Maulana Maududi were labeled as traitors, and now even the PTI founder has been branded the same. “Imran’s government was overthrown in Azad Kashmir and later he was defeated in the general elections. The outcome of such actions would lead to people’s resistance, which was witnessed in the region. Musharraf’s martial law was not as brutal as the incumbent civilian government is.”
PTI MNA Shandana Gulzar, in her address, urged the participants to support Imran Khan regardless of political affiliation. “I met Khan Sahib on Thursday, and he is in a much better condition than us, just struggling with the heat,” she said, adding that Khan was the leader of Muslim Ummah.
Former federal minister and MNA Ali Muhammad Khan said: “We are here for a cause. If Jinnah Sahib’s words had been followed, Pakistan would have been a superpower, not America.”
PTI focal person Shoaib Shaheen, Firdous Shamim Naqvi, Karachi Bar Association President Amir Nawaz Warraich, Sindh High Court Bar Association Secretary Sarfaraz Metlo, former Malir Bar Association president Ashar Samo and others also spoke.
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