Judge video scandal: Pervaiz Rashid records statement before FIA

LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Monday recorded statement of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leader Pervaiz Rashid in an investigation related to video scandal of accountability court judge Arshad Malik.

Pervaiz Rashid appeared before a three-member FIA counterterrorism wing team, headed by Babar Bakht Qureshi amid tight security.

The FIA team had arrived in Lahore from Islamabad on Friday in a bid to record statements of different PML-N leaders, allegedly linked with the judge video scandal. Meanwhile, PML-N leader Azma Bukhari, who was also summoned in said probe, excused herself from appearing before the FIA team through her counsel. Azma’s counsel submitted a written application before the FIA team stating that his client could not attend the hearing as she is abroad.

“I will appear before the FIA team after landing in the country,” she said in her plea. She has also dispatched a copy of her passport to the FIA team through a courier service. Pervaiz Rashid, after appearing before the investigators, alleged that the FIA was being used as a political tool against the opposition members. Talking to the media, he claimed that the team asked him questions out of context. He said the FIA was doing work which did not fall under its jurisdiction.

About the security measure for his appearance before the FIA, the senator showed his surprise, saying “if so many security personnel had been deployed to conquer Kashmir”. About the PTI government policies, Pervaiz said the main task of the government seemed putting political opponents in jails. “The person who used to say he would not give an NRO, has now given an NRO to his friends,” Pervaiz alleged. Earlier, the FIA had recorded a statement of PML-N deputy secretary general Attaullah Tarar.