Dawn Leaks: PM withdraws portfolio of Tariq Fatemi

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday approved the recommendations of the Dawn leaks Inquiry committee, withdrawing the portfolio of Foreign Affairs from his Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi.

"The Prime Minister, having considered the findings of the Committee as to its terms of referece, is pleased to approve its recommendations in para 18 of the report," read an order released by the PM Office.

The executive said that Rao Tehsin Ali, the principal information officer at the Information Ministry, would be proceeded against under the E&D rules 1973 on the charges based on the report findings. 

Read more: Interior Minister calls on PM Nawaz to discuss Dawn leaks report

It added that the role of the editor of Dawn Newspaper, Zaffar Abbas, and reporter Cyril Almeida will be referred to the All Pakistan Newspaper Association (APNS) for necessary disciplinary action to be taken against them. 

The order also said that the APNS will be asked to develop a code of conduct for the media, "especially when dealing with issues relating to security of Pakistan and to ensure that stories on issues of national importance and security are published by abiding to basic journalistic and editorial norms".

Also read: Pakistan Army rejects government notification on Dawn leaks

But, shortly after the government's announcement, the military's media Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a short statement saying that Army rejects the government notification and that it 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

Later in the evening, Establishment Division issued a notification, transferring Principal Information Officer Press Information Department Rao Tehseen and asking him to report to the Division immediately.

Dawn Leaks Inquiry Report

The inquiry committee formed to probe Dawn Leaks in its report had placed blame on Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi and Principal Information Officer at the Press Information Department Rao Tehsin, sources had earlier told Geo News.

The report, which has been presented to the government, recommended the removal of Tehsin.

The sources had informed Geo News that the portfolio of Fatemi on foreign affairs was likely to be changed. They said that All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) would also be asked to decide what action would be taken against the concerned newspaper.

The inquiry report could not ascertain who leaked the information to the reporter. However, blame was put on few people for failing to stop the publishing of the story.

Read more: Nothing substantial to come out of Dawn Leaks report: Khursheed Shah

The report stated that the publishing of the story was a failure on part of some government institutions including Information Ministry and Foreign Ministry.

The English-language daily, Dawn, had published the story on October 6 in which journalist Cyril 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.