Tweet withdrawn, Dawn Leaks issue settled, says Army

• DG ISPR says what preceded the tweet is regrettable, adding that govt, military were pitted against one another
• ‘We appreciate govt’s move to implement Para 18 of the committee’s recommendations’
• Says Army supports the constitution, democracy, rule of law as much as any Pakistani

The Pakistan Army on Wednesday withdrew a controversial tweet which had “rejected” a government notification regarding the Dawn Leaks, saying the issue had been settled after implementation of recommendations in the Inquiry Committee Report.

In a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Army said the tweet on April 29 was not aimed at any government office or person.

“Recommendations as contained in Para 18 of the Inquiry Committee Report, duly approved by the Prime Minister, have been implemented, which has settled the Dawn leaks issue,” said the ISPR.

“Accordingly, ISPR’s said Twitter post stands withdrawn and has become infructuous,” it added.

Pakistan Army reiterates its firm commitment and continued resolve to uphold the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and support the democratic process, the ISPR statement added.

The development follows a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

The meeting, which lasted for about 1.5 hours, was also attended by DG ISI Lt-Gen Naveed Mukhtar, and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan also attended the meeting during the last half hour.

ISPR REGRETS ‘ENVIRONMENT OF DIVISION’ BETWEEN CIVIL, MILITARY INSTITUTIONS:

Afterwards, in a press conference, DG ISPR regretted the ‘environment of division’ between the civil and military institutions following the April 29 tweet.

“What happened after the press release [ISPR tweet] is regrettable,” he said, adding that two sides were pitted against one another, which should not have been done.

“We appreciate the government’s move to implement Para 18 of the committee’s recommendations and settlement of the matter as stated in the Interior Ministry’s notification [issued today],” he explained.

Army is a strong state institution, supports the constitution, democracy and rule of law as much as any Pakistani, he added. It was stated ISPR press release [ISPR tweet] was not against any government office or official.

Additionally, a scheduled media briefing of the interior minister was postponed until tomorrow.

CHAMAN BORDER INCIDENT:

Talking about the border incident at Chaman on May 5, DG ISPR said troops of the Frontier Corps who were accompanying a Census team were on their way to talk to the Afghan border guards when they were fired upon.

“We did not want an exchange of fire as Afghanistan is a brotherly Islamic country, but had to retaliate accordingly in self-defense,” he said, adding that they did not want to initiate action but were provoked. He stressed on the continuation of solving border issues with Afghanistan to avoid such incidents in the future.

Regarding an alleged incident at the Line of Control, Gen Ghafoor rejected Indian accusations that Pakistani troops killed and mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers. He said Pakistan Army is a professional army and does not indulge in such inhumane practices.

Moreover, ISPR DG replied to one of the media person’s question about Noreen Laghari, saying, “She was rescued in time before becoming a terrorist”. He said action taken against former TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan was according to law, adding, “he is not being portrayed as a hero.”

DIRECTIVES OF PM’S OFFICE:

It is pertinent to mention here that on April 29, the PM’s Office had issued directives to remove Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign AffairsSyed Tariq Fatemi from his post for his alleged role in Dawn Leaks, saying that a notification in this regard will be issued shortly.

The directives had come after an inquiry committee probing a story published by Dawn on October 6, 2016, submitted its findings in a report to PM Nawaz Sharif. The committee’s report (the contents of which have so far not been made public) had also contained the committee’s recommendations on the matter.

The PM’s Office had also ordered an action against the principal information officer (PIO) Rao Tehsin Ali “under the E&D Rules 1973” on charges levelled against him in the report.

Furthermore, the PM’s Office had also recommended referring the newspaper Dawn to the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) for “necessary disciplinary action”. However, it was not mentioned what the charges against Dawn Editor or Cyril Almeida were.

The English-language daily, Dawn, had published the story on October 6 in which journalist Almeida had written about an alleged civil-military rift during a 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 which investigated the matter comprised one member each from the ISI, MI and IB, Secretary Establishment Tahir Shahbaz, Ombudsman Punjab Najam Saeed, and an FIA director. The committee was headed by Justice (retd) Amir Raza Khan.

The APNS was asked to develop a code of conduct for print media, especially with regards to stories that deal with “issues of national importance and security”.

However, after the PM’s Office’s directives were ‘leaked’ to media, the ISPR had tweeted saying the Army had “rejected” them, terming them “incomplete”.

Maj Gen Ghafoor, in a tweet, had said: “Notification on Dawn Leak is incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the Inquiry Board. Notification is rejected.”

Following the controversial tweet regarding the notice, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan called it ‘unnecessary noise’ surrounding the directives issued by the PM’s Office earlier that day regarding an investigation into the Dawn story, saying that a formal notification has yet to be issued in this regard.

He further added that a final notification would be issued by his ministry and would be in line with what he called the “black and white” recommendations made by the inquiry committee.