The Federal Investigation Agency on Monday registered a first information report (FIR) against former finance minister Shaukat Tarin on charges of sedition for allegedly stalling talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The case has been registered by FIA’s Cyber Crime Reporting Centre on the complaint of Arshad Mehmood under Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016 Section 20 over his alleged audio leak that had surfaced on the internet. Sections 124-A and 505 of the Pakistan Penal Code have also been included in the first information report (FIR). According to the FIR Shaukat Tarin clearly asked the finance ministers (of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) to write letters stating their respective ministries will not be returning the surplus budget to the federal government which will critically affect the ongoing deal between the government of Pakistan and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The registration of the FIR comes just a day after the government allowed the FIA to arrest the former finance minister.