In order to further tighten the screws on Sharif family, Pakistan Tekreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided in principle to move the apex court against the federal government on the issue of the newsgate scandal.
According to the sources, PTI Chairman Imran Khan advised his party’s legal team to prepare a petition to be filed in the Supreme Court (SC), wherein Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif would be made as respondents.
“PTI strongly believes that such critical information cannot be leaked without their prior knowledge or consent,” they added.
It is worth-mentioning here that the government had constituted a four-member commission headed by former Lahore High Court Judge Amir Raza with a representative of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Military Intelligence (MI).
However, the PTI, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) have rejected the committee formed by the government to investigate the Dawn story, while PAT has already challenged the committee in the Lahore High Court (LHC).
Sources said that Sharif family is allegedly involved in the security leaks; therefore, the premier made a handpicked (retd) judge as the head of the committee assigned the task to probe the controversial leaks.
They said that petition would be filed by PTI Central Secretary Information Naeemul Haque within the next two to three days.
They said that sensitive information relating to the national security was deliberately leaked; therefore, the ones responsible must be taken to task.
The government is using delaying tactics, however, PTI has left no stone unturned to take the scandal to its logical conclusion speedily because it gave a bad name to the country, as well as to Pakistan Army, sources said.
Imran Khan had already stated that the retired Justice Amir Raza had strong links to the ruling party and was also a candidate of the PML-N for the slot of the caretaker chief minister. As such, his credibility to conduct an independent and effective inquiry is highly questionable, he said. “The planted story was aimed at deliberately creating a disconnect in the civil-military relations at a time when Indian aggression was increasing not only in the India-held Kashmir, but also along the Line of Control and Working Boundary,” he added.
Opposition Leader in National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah termed the formation of the committee “nothing more than eyewash” because the daughter of Justice (retd) Amir Raza was working as vice principal at the Sharif College.
It also led to the sacking of Pervaiz Rasheed as information minister, as the government felt Rasheed should have told the newspaper not to publish the story when he was contacted by the reporter.
