FIA mulls arresting Imran Khan in prohibited funds case

• FIA to arrest Imran Khan after sending three notices.
• Permission to be taken from court to arrest PTI chief, sources say.
• PTI chairman had threatened FIA with legal action.

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has decided to arrest PTI Chairman Imran Khan if he fails to appear before the investigation committee or respond to the notices concerning the prohibited funding case, sources told The News.

The agency will get permission from a court of law to arrest Khan for obtaining the details of the party's funds and accounts, they told the publication Friday.

“The final decision to arrest the PTI chief could be taken after issuing three notices,” the sources maintained.

The investigation was launched against the PTI into the prohibited funding after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ruled that the party received illegal. After the verdict, notices were issued to senior party leaders, seeking details of bank accounts and funds received from overseas.

The FIA issued a second notice to Khan on Friday after he refused to appear before the FIA investigation team to provide details of the party funds and accounts in response to the first notice.

The sources disclosed that five more PTI companies had been traced which were not mentioned in the reports submitted to the ECP and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

These companies are operating in the USA, Australia, Canada, Britain and Belgium, they said, adding that the FIA had collected their audit reports.

The FIA Banking Circle has repeatedly asked the PTI chief to provide details of the bank accounts but Khan, responding through his legal counsel, said he was neither answerable to the FIA nor could it compel him to provide any information, the sources said.

They added that the PTI chief had threatened the FIA with legal action if the notice was not withdrawn within two days.

“The FIA committee has collected enough evidence to prove [Khan] guilty of hiding the factual position from the ECP,” the sources said.

They said that the third and probably the final notice would be issued next week well before the end of August.