Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Friday said a special committee has already started investigation into the “planted” story and the opposition should avoid politicising every issue for their political gains.
The security czar, while talking to reporters after inaugurating an Online Complaint Management and Feedback System at the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) headquarters, said the story published in Dawn newspaper was not a national security leak; rather it was a false and fabricated.
Nisar said a well-reputed and credible retired judge was heading the committee. He said the details mentioned in the story were totally false, and added no hot words were exchanged between the ISI chief and Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
With regards to the foreign secretary’s comments, Nisar said his words were distorted. The foreign secretary had said that India was trying to isolate Pakistan, but never said Pakistan was isolated, he added.
“When it comes to non-state actors, there has been no contradiction. There has always been consensus,” he added.
In response to objections raised by Awami Muslim League Chairman Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on committee members probing issue of Dawn story, the minister said Dr Usman was an efficient police officer and had won twice ‘Officer of the Year’ awards in Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The minister said he had talked to editor of Dawn newspaper who has assured that the reporter who gave the story would come back from abroad to record his statement before the committee.
Answering a question, he said that the protest and sit-ins were the right of citizens and they would be facilitated, however, lockdown or shutdown of Capital or any other city would be stopped as per law.
With regard to disrespectful comments of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari against political leaders, Nisar said this was against the norms of PPP which has a number of respectful leaders.
He called Bilawal Bhutto Zardari a “non-serious kid”, adding that Pakistan People’s Party chairman was ridiculing a man of his father’s age. Nisar further said that for now he was ignoring Bilawal’s question and would talk about it in detail some other day. Taking a jibe at Bilawal, the minister said Bilawal couldn’t even speak Urdu along with his mother tongue Sindhi.
To another question, he said there was no gazetted holiday on November 9 (Iqbal Day) and was of the view that there should not be holiday rather special programmes should be arranged in educational institutions to spread Iqbal’s message in a befitting way.
About change of Sindh governor, he said decision has already been taken by the prime minister, adding the former governor Dr Ishratul Ebad played a long innings.
Earlier, addressing the inaugural ceremony, he announced establishment of passport office in all districts of the country by February next year.
