Rawalpindi (May 10, 2016): The Pakistan Army on Wednesday retracted its earlier statement rejecting a notification from Prime Minister’s Office on Dawn Leaks and said that Dawn Leaks issues is resolved for them.
According to the details, the Pakistan Army on Wednesday “withdrew” a tweet by Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major Gen Asif Ghafoor which “rejected” Prime Minister House directives about the Dawn story inquiry.
“The tweet on 29 April 2017 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,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
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 statement added.
The ISPR release further said that the recommendations made by the Joint Investigation Team over the News Leaks are being implemented in totality.
Saying that its April 29 tweet was not against any public personality or office. Pak Army has withdrawn it, ISPR added.
The notification on Dawn Leaks is incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the inquiry board, DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Twitter on April 29.
Commenting on the directives from the Prime Minister’s Office regarding Tariq Fatemi’s dismissal, the ISPR had tweeted on April 29 that the Army had “rejected” the PM Office’s instructions, calling them “incomplete”.
Maj Gen Ghafoor, who heads the military’s media arm, had said: “Notification on Dawn Leak is incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the Inquiry Board. Notification is rejected.”
Earlier a high level meeting of civil and military leadership was held at Prime Minister House on Wednesday, which deliberated over Dawn Leak issue.
Sources told Abb Takk News that Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, DG ISI Lt. General Naveed Mukhtar, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan attended the meeting, which was chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
They said that the meeting discussed Dawn leak issue and inquiry committee’s report.
The sources said that during the meeting Kulbhushan Yadav issue and security situation of the country also came under discussion.
The meeting lasted for over one and half hours. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has to cancel his scheduled press conference due to the important meeting.
Before this high level meeting, Interior Minister Chadhry Nisar Ali Khan met the Prime Minister to discuss Dawn Leak issue.
Back Ground:
On April 29, the Prime Minister’s Office had issued directives to remove Syed Tariq Fatemi, special assistant to the prime minister on foreign affairs, from his post for his alleged role in ‘Dawn leaks’, saying that a notification in this regard will be issued shortly.
The directive had come after the inquiry committee probing a story published by Dawn on October 6, 2016 submitted its findings in a report to PM Nawaz Sharif. The report — the contents of which have so far not been made public — also contained the committee’s recommendations on the matter.
Additionally, action was ordered against Rao Tehsin Ali, the principal information officer of the Ministry of Information “under the E&D Rules 1973” on charges levelled against him in the committee’s report.
The PM’s Office also said it recommended referring Dawn to the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) for “necessary disciplinary action”, but did not say what the charges against Editor Dawn or journalist Cyril Almeida — who wrote the story — are.
The APNS was additionally been asked to develop a Code of Conduct for print media, especially when it comes to stories that deal with “issues of national importance and security”.
The language of the statement suggested that the recommendations were in addition to the committee’s recommendations in paragraph 18 of the inquiry report, which has yet to be made public.
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