–Media reports claim establishment division refuses to comply with directives
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has appointed Rao Tehsin Ali Khan as the director general (DG) of Radio Pakistan, media reports stated on Tuesday.
Tehseen, a grade 21 officer, was dismissed after an inquiry was launched into a news report by Dawn newspaper, aka Dawn Leaks, published in October 2016 that exposed tensions between the civil and military leadership.
The news report ‘Act against militants or face international isolation, civilians tell military’ had aggravated the tensions between the civil-mil relations, with the army’s spokesperson snubbing a government notification pertaining to the inquiry of the leaked report.
In November, a 7-member committee was formed to probe into the matter which was headed by Justice (r) Aamir Raza Khan. An inquiry report was presented to then interior minister Chaudry Nisar that held Pervez Rashid, Rao Tehsin and Tariq Fatemi responsible for the leaks.
“Rao Tehsin Ali, Principal Information Officer (PIO) of the Ministry of Information, shall be proceeded against under E&D (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules 1973 on the charges based on findings in the instant report”, read the order signed by PM’s Principal Secretary Fawad Hasan Fawad at the time of publication of the report.
The media reports stated that Tehseen’s restoration orders were issued by the Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Fawad on the directives of PM Abbasi. However, the Establishment Division, on the other hand, maintained the permission of the federal cabinet was necessary for Tehseen’s appointment.
This has given rise to speculations as the situation between the civ-mil is at a new low following Nawaz Sharif’s comments on Mumbai attacks.
The acting information secretary, Shafqat Jaleel, reportedly deemed ignorance of the matter, while the federal `information secretary is out of the country. However, another media report claimed that the information secretary has refused to comply with the directives.
Giving a clarification, the Prime Minister’s Office said that the directives were related to Tehseen’s posting, not an appointment. It further added that the higher officials of the bureaucracy were incorrectly interlinking the Cabinet’s permission with the implementation of the orders.
“The prime minister has absolute authority over the posting of every federal officer and the Establishment Division is accountable to execute written orders by him,” the PM Office added.
