PTI flays FIA over notice in Imran Khan's controversial tweet case

• Omar questions FIA SI's jurdiction to summon parliamentarians.
• PTI leader demands NA to summon DG FIA over call-up notices.
• Imran Khan 'joins' FIA probe in connection with controversial X post.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary-General Omar Ayub Khan has launched sharp criticism of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for serving him a call-up notice in the party founder Imran Khan’s controversial tweet case.

Ayub, speaking on the floor of the National Assembly on Friday, slammed the probe agency’s notices to him and other PTI leaders — including the party’s Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Central Information Secretary Raoof Hasan — in the controversial X post case.

Auyb, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the lower house of parliament, stressed that the parliamentarians were part of the state as per the Constitution. "Parliament is superior than to any other institutions in the country."

The politico questioned higher authorities about the jurisdiction of a probe agency’s sub-inspector which allowed him to issue a call-up notice to the parliamentarians.

He demanded the House summon the FIA’s director general to question his jurisdiction and also about the language which was used in the call-up notice.

Ayub said that he and several other PTI leaders were booked in terrorism cases in Sargodha. He alleged that "aliens" were involved in the disappearances of party workers whenever they came out of jail.

He slammed that association with the Imran-founded party was seemingly becoming a crime in the country while there was no law in place which could stop such illegal activities.

He went on to say that the the former prime minister, who was removed from power in April 2022, was facing "solitary confinement" which was proved from the pictures of his prison cell at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.

He further alleged that former first lady Bushra Bibi was also not given any facilities at the jail.

The PTI secretary-general alleged that other PTI women leaders — Aliya Hamza Malik and Sanam Javaid — were not being released despite the mandamuses of their release being prepared.

“Is this a banana republic? This kind of Gestapo state policy should be eliminated and let the country go ahead,” he added.

PTI founder 'joins' FIA probe

Moreover, incarcerated former premier Imran Khan has joined the FIA’s probe which was launched after a controversial video had been posted on his official X account, Geo News reported citing sources.

Last week, the FIA's anti-cybercrime team started an investigation into a post on X, formerly Twitter, which was attributed to the former prime minister Imran Khan.

"Every Pakistani should study the Hamood ur Rahman Commission Report and get to know who was the true traitor, General Yahya Khan or Sheikh Mujibur Rahman," the post read.

The sources within the jail said that an investigation team comprising FIA’s Additional Director Ayaz Ahmed and Sub-Inspector Munib reached the Adiala Jail, again, to question the PTI founder.

It emerged that Imran joined the investigation in the presence of his lawyers Chaudhry Zaheer Abbas and Intezar Hussain Panjutha.

During the probe, the FIA team grilled Khan after showing his debatable X post in jail.

The probe agency’s team visited the Adiala Jail for the third time to question Imran as the former premier refused to join the probe twice.

The FIA had also served notices to three other PTI top leaders in connection with the case, including Barrister Gohar, Omar and Raoof.

However, Ayub had excused from appearing before the FIA due to a “busy schedule”, whereas, Gohar and Raoof appeared before the investigators on Wednesday.

Additionally, the Islamabad High Court (IHC), following a petition against the FIA’s call-up notices, also directed the federal government’s probe agency not to take any adverse action against the PTI secretary general besides directing the latter to join the probe.