ISLAMABAD: The federal government has made newsgate scandal investigation committee more powerful, and it will now function under the Pakistan Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1956. According to the Interior Ministry’s notification on Saturday, it has been stated that the newsgate investigation committee shall conduct the inquiry in terms of Section 4 of the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry Act, 1956, and have the specific powers to summon and enforce the attendance of any person, and examine him on oath. According to law, the commission can now require the discovery and production of any documents, receive evidence on affidavits and issue commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents. According to the notification, the committee would maintain a record of its proceedings. A copy of this new notification has been sent to all members concerned, as well as the directors general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI), and the Intelligence bureau (IB), besides the prime minister’s secretary. On the other hand, an Interior Ministry spokesman said in a statement that the committee probing the fabricated news story had asked the interior minister – during his briefing to the said committee – to request the editor and reporter of the English daily to appear before the committee and record their statements. The spokesman also pointed out that at no point during his press conference the interior minister criticised the newspaper for publishing the story. He said that the minister’s statement on the false story’s probe was exactly in line with the government’s stance. The ministry requests a section of the media to refrain from giving their own interpretations to the minister’s words, he said. “Kite-flying and assumptive analysis on this issue of national importance would negatively impact the ongoing probe,” said the spokesman. The spokesman said that ethics of international journalism and reporting should be followed in letter and spirit by all the media houses and watchdogs until the completion of the inquiry.