FIA interrogates Moonis in money laundering case

PML-Q leader says case filed to divert public’s attention from ‘unconstitutional’ budget

LAHORE:

Without securing bail to evade arrest, former federal minister Chaudhry Moonis Elahi went to the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) headquarters on Thursday and presented himself for interrogation in the money laundering case, whereafter he claimed that the case was meant to divert the public’s attention from Punjab budget.

During the interrogation, which lasted for more than four-and-a-half hours, he was asked various questions.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader, while speaking to the media persons on his return, said that he appeared before the agency himself a day ago, and was told to come at 8:30am on Thursday.

“I was told to come today at 8:30am; I arrived on time today,” he said, adding that he told them to ask him whatever they wanted to know because “I have the answer to every question”.

“When they ran out of questions, they started asking me the same question again and again,” he further said, adding that this case is just “an attempt to tarnish my image through a media trial”.

He also revealed that he has been given a questionnaire, which he will submit after consulting his lawyers.

To a question, the former federal minister said that the FIA wanted to arrest him. “If they want to investigate then they should have given me a notice first, but no notice was served by the FIA till date,” he said.

“I came to them myself to ask them about the matter, so they gave me a questionnaire,” he added.

Elahi said that he went to the headquarters to tell the agency that if they want to interrogate him further then they simply needed to tell him when to come again.

“There is no need for such a spectacle,” he added.

He said that the whole “drama” was staged to divert the public’s attention from the “unconstitutional” budget session convened by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) at Aiwan-e-Iqbal.

He cited his pro-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf stance as the reason for the case, adding that “if I support the PML-N today, these dramas will end immediately”.

The PML-Q leader said that his tax returns and all records were regularly submitted to the Federal Board of Revenue and the Election Commission of Pakistan.