ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party has rejected the seven-member committee formed by the government to investigate a Dawn story about a high-level security meeting between senior military and civilian leadership, saying that such a matter should be decided in parliament.

“Newsleak commission is mere eyewash to hush up the facts; such issues should also be taken to parliament,” Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah said at a news conference on Tuesday.

He said every government organisation investigated its own matters and did not consult any other department. “Similarly, the issue of parliamentarians should be decided by parliament,” he said and quoted Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani as saying: “Parliament should have its own investigation system.”

Mr Shah said the government had announced the inquiry committee one month after the controversy erupted over publication of the news report and now its head retired Justice Aamer Raza Khan had become controversial following his alleged links with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

“A daughter of a member of the commission is serving as vice-principal of Sharif Medical Complex,” he said, adding that the committee was ‘useless’ because the government had already declared one of the federal ministers guilty.

Imran says committee head has ‘strong links’ with PML-N

The PPP leader said the government should have asked the opposition for the names of members of the inquiry committee. “It has been proved that not only (former) information minister Pervaiz Rashid but the government itself was involved in leaking the national secret,” he said.

Mr Shah said he believed that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan had benefited the prime minister by calling off his party’s Islamabad lockdown plan. He said politicians should not have taken the issue of Panama Papers leaks to the Supreme Court. “Now the game has gone away from the hands of parliament,” he added.

Imran Khan

The PTI chief also rejected the inquiry committee and said the ‘planted story’ published in Dawn was aimed at deliberately creating a disconnect in civil-military relations at a time when Indian aggression was increasing not only in held Kashmir but also along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary.

Mr Khan alleged that Justice Aamer Raza had “strong links” with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and was also a candidate of the PML-N for caretaker chief minister. “As such his credibility to conduct an independent, effective inquiry is highly questionable,” he added.

He said the country had a history of commissions headed by retired judges whose reports were put in cold storage.

Mr Khan demanded that a time-bound inquiry be carried out under a serving judge so that the guilty could be brought to justice as early as possible.

“If the interior minister has proof about who had and how the story was planted, then there is no need for any commission as he should proceed to try the guilty under relevant security laws of the land,” he said.

Ex-chief justice

Former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry wrote to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif demanding registration of an FIR against those involved in leaking the story to Dawn.

In his letter to the prime minister, the interior secretary, FIA chief and Islamabad IG, Justice Iftikhar said: “The principal secretary to the prime minister is hereby required to initiate the proceeding of lodging FIR as well as ensuring independent investigation without any fear and favour so the culprits are put to trial in the interest of national security.”

On Oct 6, Dawn published an inside story about a national security meeting, which triggered a countrywide debate, with the opposition and the military terming it against national security.

“Accused who have committed the crime are liable to be counted for under Official Secret Act, 1923,” Justice Iftikhar said.

“Essentially, it was the duty of the functionaries responsible to make arrangements regarding the meeting in the office of the prime minister, immediately to set the machinery of law into motion by getting registered FIR. So the issue of communicating an official secret by unscrupulous person is taken to its logical end,” the letter said.

“Let me say, that so far nothing has been done by the federal government, although initially an impression was created that the interior minister has been tasked to conduct an inquiry, in the meanwhile, the information minister was removed, reportedly, for not blocking the news from publications. At the same time another statement was also issued that a committee comprising ISI, MI, IB is being constituted for prove into breach of an official secret,” Justice Iftikhar added.

He said it seemed that the issue of breach of the official secret had been put on the back burner, instead of resolving the same by exposing the responsible persons in the national interest and sending them to face trial before the competent forum so the nation could witness its consequential decision.

Published in Dawn November 9th, 2016