Army rejects government's notification over Dawn leaks case: ISPR
The statement has been issued by DG ISPR.
RAWALPINDI (Dunya News) – Only a few minutes after the government removed Tariq Fatemi from his post through a notification issued by Secretary to the Prime Minister over Dawn leaks case, Pakistan Army on Saturday rejected the notice terming it ‘incomplete’.
According to Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, the notification issued over Dawn leaks case is incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the inquiry board.
Notification on Dawn Leak is incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the Inquiry Board. Notification is rejected.
— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) April 29, 2017
Earlier, implementing the inquiry committee’s recommendations on the issue of Dawn leaks, the government had removed Tariq Fatemi from the post of Special Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs.
“The Prime Minister, having considered the findings of the Committee as to its terms of reference is pleased to approve its recommendations in para 18 of the report,” stated a notification issued by Secretary to the Prime Minister.
Read also: Tariq Fatemi removed from special advisor’s post
The notification further specified, “Allocation of portfolio of Foreign Affairs to Syed Tariq Fatemi, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, shall be withdrawn. Necessary notification in this regard should be issued forthwith.”
The government also ordered action against Principal Officer of the Minister of Information Rao Tehsin Ali under the E&D Rules 1973 on the charges based on findings mentioned in the report.
It had been directed in the notification to refer the roles of Daily Dawn, Mr. Zafar Abbas and Mr. Cyril Almeida to All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) for necessary disciplinary action against them.
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“The APNS shall also be asked to develop a Code of Conduct for the print media especially when dealing with issues relating to security of Pakistan and to ensure that stories on issues of national important and security are published by abiding basic journalistic and editorial norms,” the notification stated.
It is worth mentioning here that an article written by journalist Cyril Almeida in Pakistan’s English-language newspaper Dawn gave an account of a tense, high-level security meeting held between military and government, and the inquiry was initiated to identify its source.
Pakistan army called for a probe into the leak, and dismissed the story as “unfounded and planted.”
The prime minister’s office declared the story "planted" and termed it a "breach of national security", whereas, Dawn newspaper editors stood by the article and its author.
