Claim: A viral social media post claims that PTI leader Shaukat Tarin had been arrested by the FIA.
Fact: He has not been arrested, but he has been charged and may be taken into custody in the near future.
In August 2022, two audio clips surfaced of a telephone conversation between PTI Senator Shaukat Tarin instructing party ministers in KPK and Punjab not to commit to a provincial surplus to the IMF and federal government, in light of the recent floods that wreaked havoc in Pakistan. As a result, the FIA Cybercrime Wing Islamabad formally launched an inquiry against Tarin over the leaked audio clip of purported telephonic conversation.
On 11 February 2023 social media posts claimed that Shaukat Tarin, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senator, had been arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
Fact or Fiction?
To verify the claim, Soch Fact Check investigated multiple sources, including news reports and official statements. We that Tarin has not been arrested.
We searched for news reports from credible sources regarding Tarin’s arrest. We found that several news outlets had reported on the ongoing inquiry and the FIA’s investigation into Tarin. There was no official announcement from the government or the FIA regarding Tarin’s arrest, and no credible news outlet reported that Tareen had been arrested on 11 February 2023.
Finally, we reached out to official sources within the FIA to verify the claim. We were able to confirm that Shaukat Tareen was not arrested on 11 February 2023. In fact, the government had given the FIA permission to arrest him on 12 February 2023. On 12 February 2023, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah announced that the federal government had given the FIA permission to arrest former finance minister Shaukat Tarin for attempting to derail an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.
Virality
The tweet was shared with 38,900 followers and was viewed over 5,562 times. We also found tweets here, here and here.
Conclusion: The FIA has confirmed that they have not arrested Tarin, social media posts are false.