The Federal Investigation Agency has registered a case against former finance minister Shaukat Tarin for what it says is an attempt to derail a deal between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund in 2022.

The case has been registered under one of the most controversial sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) and two sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Tarin faces charges of sedition, criminal defamation, and conducting public mischief against the state. One of the sections used against him prescribe a life sentence in jail.

There was no word on a possible arrest, however, Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah announced on Sunday that he had permitted the FIA to register a case against Tarin and arrest him.

‘Sedition’

According to the contents of the FIR lodged against Tarin, the accused failed to satisfy an FIA inquiry when he was summoned and asked questions about two leaked audio clips containing his conversations with then-finance ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces as they discussed plans to derail a deal between Pakistan and the IMF. (The contents of the leaks audios were widely reported in 2022 and have been discussed below).

The FIR said that unsatisfactory answers by Tarin “implied that the accused is hiding the facts regarding instant matter and lying about his intentions and motive behind the alleged conversation. Such mischievous acts may lead in disrupting the public tranquility and create an ill will among pillars of state and likely to cause a sense of fear, alarm and intimidation to every citizen of state due to economic situation of Pakistan…”

“Thus, the alleged conversation is considered as an act of sedition against the State, “ the FIR reads.

Since a sedition case cannot be registered without prior approval from the government, the FIR made it clear that the FIA director general had obtained the required permission and followed the procedure laid down in the law.

Tarin has been booked under Section 20 of PECA and sections 124-A and 505 of the PPC.

• Section 20 of the PECA criminalizes defamation and prescribes a three-year jail term for the offense. It is the most controversial section in the entire PECA law enacted in 2016. Ironically, the PTI wanted to make it tougher by extending it to newspapers and broadcast media, but the amendment was quashed by the courts.

• Section 124-A of the PPC is a major sedition law that says anyone who brings “hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Federal or Provincial Government” may be jailed for life.

• Section 505 of the PPC is about “statements conducing to public mischief”. Anyone convicted under Section 505 may have to spend five years in jail.

Leaked clips from August 2022

In audio clips leaked in August 2022, Tarin was heard speaking with then-Punjab Finance Minister Mohsin Leghari and then-KP Finance Minister Taimoor Jhagra. The PTI was in power in both provinces back then.

Tarin allegedly told both finance ministers to write letters to the IMF to say that the provinces will not be able to deliver on their part of the deal.

The IMF wanted the provinces to run a surplus on their budgets, but days before the audio clips were leaked, then-KP Finance Minister Taimoor Jhagra publicly said it would be “next to impossible” for the provincial government to leave a surplus.

The FIR says that the clips containing conversations between Shaukat Tarin and Mohsin Leghari and between Shaukat Tarin and Taimoor Jhagra “were thoroughly heard and analyzed” and were being reproduced partially.

The following transcript from the conversations was then reproduced.

“…Tarin: Yehi likhna hai, our kuch nahi kama. Wo jo hai na, That’s all we want keh wo in ke ooper pressure paray, in saalon ke ooper, ye apna … khainch rahy hain. Hamain andar krwa rahy hain. Hamary ooper terrorism ke parchy krwa rahy hain. Ye bilkul scotfree ja rahay hain, wo nahin honay dena hum ne…

Mohsin: Would have Pakistan as a state suffer because of this?

Tarin: Well frankly speaking, you know isn’t the state suffering because of the way they are treating your chairman and everybody else… Dekho ye to zaroor ho ga…“

“The accused Mr. Shaukat Fayaz Ahmed Tarin clearly asked the Finance Ministers to write letters, stating their respective Ministries will not return surplus budget to the federal government, which will critically affect the then ongoing deals between the Government of Pakistan and IMF regarding the economic situation of the State. During the enquiry, the accused Mr. Shaukat Fayaz Ahmed Tarin was summoned and questioned regarding the contents of the alleged audio clips for which he could not provide satisfactory answers…,” the FIR said.

A month after the leaks, the FIA sent a notice to Tarin telling him to appear before the agency in September 2022. The issue was, however, drowned out in a flurry of political activities around the appointment of the next chief of army staff (COAS). The current COAS, Gen Syed Asim Munir, took over at the end of November.