Karachi: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Sunday that the government had given the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) permission to arrest ex-finance minister PTI Senator Shaukat Tarin in a case pertaining to his alleged role in derailing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal.
Commenting on the matter during a press conference in Karachi on Sunday, Sanaullah lashed out at PTI Chairman Imran Khan and alleged that since his ouster, the ex-premier had been “campaigning and making moves” to ensure that the country was subject to political instability so that it would ultimately default.
“For this purpose, he (Imran) also led astray a person like Shaukat Tarin who under his influence did something because of which Pakistan could’ve been hurt.
“The inquiry against him (Tarin) is complete, the FIA had asked permission to arrest him which the government has given and he should be punished for it so no one ever dares to do something like this again.”
He said that despite all this, the PTI chief was “unsuccessful” and an agreement between the IMF and the government was seemingly on the horizon.
“Today again he indulged in a very disgusting talk which is highly condemnable and I want to clarify that Pakistan will achieve political and economic stability,” he said, referring to Imran’s televised address.
He said there was “no possibility” of future negotiations with militants since past talks had not proved successful or yielded any results. “There is no doubt that a new wave of terrorism has arrived,” Sanaullah said, adding that law enforcement agencies and security institutions on alert.
During his media talk, the interior minister also spoke about elections in the country, saying that it was the Election Commission of Pakistan’s prerogative to conduct them.
“We are fully ready to contest elections whether they are in April or October but we are of the opinion that they are not the solution to the economic and militancy challenges the country faces at this time.”
The interior minister said it would be “hard to accept” the results of an election held without a caretaker set-up.
Two audio leaks had surfaced in August last year in which a man, purportedly ex-minister Tarin, could be heard guiding Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab finance ministers, belonging to the PTI, to tell the coalition government in the Centre and the IMF that they would not be able to commit to a provincial budget surplus in light of the monsoon floods that wrought havoc across Pakistan.
