Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday sacked his Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi after an inquiry into a leak to the publication Dawn. In October 2016, Dawn had published an article about a meeting between Pakistan’s military and civilian government, that had described a rift between the two. However, the report following the inquiry has not been made public yet.
A notification from Sharif’s office also recommended that action be taken against the principal information officer of the Ministry of Information, Rao Tehsin Ali, Dawn reported. His office will also recommend disciplinary action by the All Pakistan Newspapers Society against Dawn. Earlier, the government had also placed a travel ban on the Dawn journalist who had written the article, Cyril Almeida.
However, the military has rejected Sharif’s directives, calling it “incomplete”. Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations, Major Asif Ghafoor, said, “Notification on Dawn Leak is incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the Inquiry Board. Notification is rejected.”
The government’s move comes at a time when Sharif is already under pressure because of an investigation into charges of corruption against the prime minister in the Panama Papers leak.
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