In a dramatic and unexpected move, the government and the powerful Army announced on Wednesday that the much-hyped Dawn leaks issue, which kept the two sides at loggerheads for several months, has been resolved.
This was a total extinction for the group who had been using all its efforts to find a way that would start confrontation between the Government and the men in boots. For some in that camp this was probably the only way to get rid of Nawaz Sharif since the expected 2018 elections gained no hope.
The interior ministry issued the much-awaited notification “according to the recommendations” of the Dawn leaks inquiry committee, whereas the Army withdrew the controversial tweet which was made on April 29 terming the Prime Minister Office’s directives on the Dawn story inquiry report were “rejected”.
“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,” said a statement from Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), which was issued after a one-on-one meeting between the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa.
The army also reiterated its firm commitment and continued the resolve to uphold the country’s constitution and support the democratic process- a gesture widely acclaimed by the media.
Interestingly, the interior ministry’s notification does not bear anything different to April 29th letter, except for a slightly straight language to fix the responsibility.
The notification held the principal Information Officer (PIO) Rao Tahseen, and Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Tariq Fatemi, who had served as the de facto deputy foreign minister, for not displaying “”the required level of professionalism” and “shown carelessness while dealing with the issue”- a charge , which the two have already rejected .
The Dawn’s editor and the reporter have been referred to the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) _ for “disciplinary action”.
The only new part of the interior ministry’s ‘notification’ was an endorsement of the removal of Senator Pervaiz Rashid by the federal government.
The rare rosy language, especially the Director General ISPR, Major Gen Asif Ghafoor’s statement declaring prime minister as the “final authority”, the once alarming issue apparently seems to be resolved, but there are a number of questions that will continue to haunt the people and the media. Gen Asif’s complete avoidance to the questions asked regarding the involvement of Maryam in the whole episode gives the clear picture of understanding between the two sides. However his addressing of the border issues involving Iran and Afghanistan on the day shows the militaries resole to tackle both the countries in a rational way acknowledging the conspiracies being hatched against CPEC.
The first and foremost is that if there is no difference between the previous and the latest notifications then what had prompted the ISPR to snub the Prime Minister through a tweet? Secondly, who was the person who leaked the minutes, if any, of the national security meeting to the reporter? If Perwaiz Rashid, Tariq Fatemi, and Rao Tahseen had nothing to do with the leakage of meeting’s minutes then who was the one who orchestrated the ugly move?
Also, if no one has been found guilty of breaching the national security, and the story was concocted (according to the government) then why the culprits of publishing the highly-damaging story have literally been allowed to get away with it?
Doesn’t this suggest that something is wrong in the wind?? Who knows? And if the two warring sides have agreed to dump the issue in a win-win situation then who cares?