Islamabad : The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) while acting on the former accountability court judge’s application has registered an FIR against top leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), including its president Shahbaz Sharif, Vice President Maryam Nawaz, former PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi along with a number of other persons on charges of blackmailing the judge over videos recorded secretly during his private meetings with different people, including PML-N leaders.

Meanwhile, another name has emerged in the video scandal. A local PML-N leader, Mian Raza, allegedly sold the video to Mian Tariq Mahmoud, who is already in custody.

The FIA earlier on Wednesday arrested Mahmoud and took him on a two-day remand.

He will be produced before the judge on Friday, and the investigating agency will again request for an extension of remand.

In this regard, teams have been constituted to arrest other accused, including Nasir Janjua, Nasir Butt, Khurram Yousuf and Meher Jillani, nominated in the case lodged under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA).

The Cyber Crime Wing of the FIA is interrogating the local PML-N leader Raza as he is believed to be the main accomplice of Mahmoud.

In his complaint too, the judge Arshad Malek claimed that Mahmoud had bought the leaked video from Raza.

In the case registered against the accused some eight provisions of the Cyber Crime Act have been included.

In his affidavit, the accountability judge confessed he met Nawaz Sharif in Jati Umra on April 6, 2019, Hussain Nawaz in Saudi Arabia on June 1, 2019 as Nasir Butt blackmailed him to get his assistance in preparation of grounds for appeals in the Al Azizia and Flagship cases.

Judge Malek had convicted the former premier in the Al Azizia case and sentenced him to seven years in jail on December 24, 2018.

The acting chief justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Aamer Farooq had removed Malek on July 12 and directed the Law Ministry to remove/relieve him from his duties forthwith so that he can be repatriated to his parent department, i.e. Lahore High Court, Lahore.

However the federal government (Law Ministry) instead of complying with the directions of the court has withheld his repatriation and has started crackdown on the characters he has accused of blackmailing him.