ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan declined to meet with the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cyber crime team that arrived at Adiala Jail late Thursday night, the sources close to the development said on Friday.
Khan stated that he would only answer questions in the presence of his lawyers, according to the sources. The FIA team documented his response in writing.
The sources within Adiala Jail reported that the former prime minister refused to participate in the FIA investigation concerning his controversial social media post on X, previously known as Twitter.
This development follows the FIA cyber crime wing’s decision on Thursday to take action against Khan for his contentious social media post.
A post on X, attributed to Khan, urged Pakistanis to read the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report to identify the real traitor between General Yahya Khan and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The former ruling party also defended the post, arguing that the reference to 1971 was meant to encourage learning from history, amidst widespread criticism including from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who condemned the post.
The sources from the FIA indicated that the decision to act was influenced by a “propaganda video” featuring Mujeeb, which was uploaded from Khan’s account on May 26.
The sources noted that despite Khan’s incarceration at Adiala Jail, his account was being used to disseminate propaganda videos. The FIA cyber wing intends to question four PTI members regarding this issue: Khan, Gohar, PTI Information Secretary Raoof Hasan, and Secretary-General Omar Ayub.
The investigation will determine if Khan or someone with his consent uploaded the post and identify the creator of the “anti-Pakistan propaganda” video.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar, however, claimed that Khan had not reviewed the post before it was shared on his account and defended the tweet, stating it was taken out of context.
Gohar explained that the reference to 1971 was intended politically and not to criticize the army.
