Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: A high profile committee has started an investigation of the ‘Newsgate’ scandal on Thursday and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar shared some information with committee members and provided them important documents to see.

Sources told Daily Times that a meeting was held at Punjab House under the chair of Justice Amir Raza Khan and attended by Inter Services Intelligence, military intelligence, intelligence bureau, Federal Investigation Agency members and Establishment Secretary Tahir Shahbaz.

Chaudhry Nisar said the aim was to complete an inquiry in 30 days and the committee would be completely independent. Sources said that the interior minister assured the committee that all concerned departments would provide support and cooperation to the committee and the committee could summon any person they wanted in order to reach the most accurate conclusion.

The committee approved the four points terms of reference as well to move the investigation process forward. The committee will consider who leaked the news, whose interests were taken care of, whose was behind the news and whether the news was already available to the reporter and fed after the national security meeting.

It may be mentioned here that on 6 October, reporter Cyril Almeida published news of a national security committee meeting which was declared against national security by corp commanders.

The story was initially denied by the government, who called it a ‘complete fabrication’. However, as the newspaper stood by its story, attention shifted to the mechanism by which it had been leaked, and to hold accountable those responsible. Justice Rtd. Amir Raza Khan’s committee looks set to complete the investigation in thirty days, which the government surely hopes will bring to an end a chain of events that severely strained relations between the military and the government and saw Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed get the sack.