ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Omar Ayub on Wednesday refused to appear before the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) team in a probe related to the controversial X post on 1971 war. 

Ayub, in the response sent through his legal team, said that he could not appear before the body as he was busy with a pre-budget engagement and appearing in courts as he was nominated in several terrorism cases. 

The development came after the FIA had asked him, along with PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan and Information Secretary Raoof Hasan, to appear before the FIA Cyber Crime Reporting Centre on Wednesday "in the interest of justice".

The FIA's cybercrime team started an investigation into the post on X which was attributed to the former prime minister Imran Khan.

The post read: "Every Pakistani should study the Hamood ur Rahman Commission Report and get to know who was the true traitor, General Yahya Khan or Sheikh Mujibur Rahman."

While Hasan and Gohar reached the office, Ayub told the FIA that he was busy and termed the show-cause notice "defamatory" and said that "unlawful questions" were asked "without referring to any specific query".

He added that the notice was extensively publicised on mainstream and social media, thereby "causing harassment, unwarranted intimidation and injurious propaganda".

The response noted that the FIA is neither an outfit of historians nor is above the Supreme Court and two high courts whose judges gave the Hamoodur Rehman Commission report.

"Therefore, this notice is aimed at persecution of [the] most popular leader of the country Imran Khan and our client who is the Secretary General of his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf."

At present, the response said, Ayub is busy with the pre-budget consultative process as well as appearing in dozens of false cases of terrorism registered against him in many areas of the country.

Ayub, providing reasons for his non-appearance, asked the agency to provide a copy of the Hamoodur Rehman Commission Report to him and give reasonable time and warned the FIA that he would lodge cases in the courts as well as raise the issue in the parliament.

The development comes after the FIA's cybercrime team started an investigation into a post on X, formerly Twitter, which was attributed to the former prime minister.

The agency also sent notices to the PTI leaders, summoning them before the probe agency at 11am today.