ISLAMABAD: The inquiry committee formed to investigate the infamous Dawn Leaks in its report has found Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Tariq Fatemi and Principal Information Officer at the Press Information Department Rao Tehseen, guilty.
The report which has been presented to the government, suggests removal of Tehseen. Fatemi’s portfolio on foreign affairs may be changed but he would probably retain his position.
However, it has been left to All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) to decide the course of action that would be taken against the newspaper that published the story.
The inquiry report mentioned a few people who could’ve stopped the news from getting published. However, it wasn’t mentioned as to who initially leaked the story to the reporter.
The report said that government institutions including Information Ministry and Foreign Ministry were to be blamed for the fact that the story got published in the first place.
The English-language daily, Dawn, had published a story on October 6 in which journalist Cyril Almeida had written about an alleged civil-military rift during the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting over the issue of tackling jihadi outfits. The story stirred a major controversy last year, resulting in Almeida coming under fire from the military and government and being temporarily placed on the Exit Control List.
The inquiry committee comprised one member each from the ISI, MI and IB, Secretary Establishment Tahir Shahbaz, Ombudsman Punjab Najam Saeed, and an FIA director.