PTI Chairman Imran Khan has refused to oblige the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) regarding a letter seeking details from him following the verdict in the foreign funding case, it emerged on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, the FIA had constituted a five-member team to supervise the inquiry teams of respective zones probing the matter pertaining to the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) order in the PTI prohibited funding case.
According to The News, the FIA had sent a letter to Imran dated August 12, seeking details of the total funds provided to the PTI by national and international companies and business firms.
The report said that the watchdog had also asked about other financial details from the PTI chief as well as details such as the list of the party's office-bearers, record of donors and who operated the PTI's bank accounts.
Imran, in a letter dated Aug 16, through PTI lawyer Anwar Mansoor Khan, responded to Amna Baig, the deputy director of the FIA's Commercial Bank Circle in Islamabad.
The letter, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, said the FIA was seeking to "act and derive jurisdiction on what you call a decision of the ECP", however, it added that the Aug 2 decision was "in fact a report consequent to a scrutiny".
It argued that the Supreme Court of Pakistan had held in a number of cases that the ECP was an administrative body, instead of a court or tribunal, and thus its decision was not an order, but only a report.
Therefore, the letter added, the ECP could not direct the FIA or any other body to act on the basis of its report and thus, the agency had no jurisdiction to bring it into action.
"The notice issued is otherwise contrary to the provisions of the FIA Act," the letter reads.
It said that despite all of the above, the FIA had "malafidely and for motivated intent and reasons chosen to require PTI to submit to your jurisdiction and give documents to you". The letter said the notice was not liable to be acted upon due to the FIA's "lack of authority and jurisdiction" and should be forthwith withdrawn not later than two days.
"Else we are under instructions to proceed against FIA and yourself in a court of law," the letter warned.
