LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid senior leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has said that by getting an incomplete notification issued, the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has tried to undermine the army.
He was addressing a lawyers’ delegation at his residence on Monday. He also said that this took place according to a well- conceived plan and hasn’t happened for the first time as well, as the premier does not let go of an opportunity to target the army.
He said that in this state of war, it is very difficult for the army to remain silent over leakage of national secrets from the Prime Minister House. He said that the army won’t be willing to accept that any functionary of the Prime Minister House has leaked sensitive information about such a high-level meeting. The nation is justified in demanding that real culprits behind this episode be exposed and given an exemplary punishment.
Much-anticipated drop scene of the Dawn gate turned ugly when DG ISPR through Twitter rejected the notification issued by Prime Minister’s Office that sacked Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi, Principal Information Officer (PIO) Rao Tahseen and directed APNS to take ‘disciplinary action’ against Dawn’s editor and reporter.
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 formed to probe Dawn Leaks in its report has placed blame on Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi and Principal Information Officer at the Press Information Department Rao Tehsin.
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.