LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday allowed time to a counsel of Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan to file his rejoinder to a reply of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in an inquiry into an audio leak relating to cipher controversy.

Imran Khan challenged a call-up notice by the agency and the same was suspended by the court on a previous hearing.

Earlier, a legal representative of the FIA submitted a reply seeking dismissal of Khan’s petition.

The agency in its reply said the call-up notice to the petitioner was issued in accordance with law. It further said that the inquiry was being conducted as per the law and no harassment had been caused to the petitioner.

Imran Khan’s counsel Salman Safdar sought time to file his rejoinder and the court adjourned the hearing to be fixed after winter vacations.

The petitioner’s counsel said that the FIA summoned the petitioner in the impugned inquiry without disclosing any criminal wrongdoing committed by him.

He asked the court to set aside the impugned call-up notice by declaring it being issued without jurisdiction.

He also urged the court to quash the inquiry since no wrongdoing had been pointed out against the petitioner.

The court also adjourned hearing of another petition of Imran Khan challenging a call-up notice in an inquiry in the prohibited funding case.

The court had suspended the impugned notice on November 08.

The FIA, in its reply, defended the call-up notice saying it was competent to investigate offences taking place in private banks. It said the inquiry was relating to bank accounts about which the PTI claimed before the ECP that the accounts were opened without an authorization of the party.

Imran Khan in his petition against inquiry in the prohibited funding case through his counsel contended that the FIA had no power to proceed in the matter, especially when the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) did not even hold that any law had been violated in opening or operating the bank accounts in question.

He said the ECP never directed the FIA or any other agency to inquire into any aspect of the bank accounts. He argued that only the federal government and the ECP could take actions against the political parties.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022