Nothing substantial to come out of Dawn Leaks report: Khursheed Shah

ISLAMABAD: Opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah on Wednesday said that the culprits behind Dawn Leaks had helped Pakistan's enemies by making matters public.

"The way the State was dragged onto the streets in front of the world, the enemy was helped and provided information," said the Pakistan People's Party politician, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly.

Although the inquiry committee's report has not yet been made public by the government, Shah said his sixth sense told him that "nothing substantial would come out of it".

"Everybody already knows about the report on Dawn Leaks. I believe all those responsible will be let go. Some small government employee or two will be dragged into this. That is clear to me," he said.

Shah said those held responsible "would definitely be involved [in Dawn leaks] but they would be made scapegoats and will suffer because they are weak and poor".

The PPP senior leader's comments come after reports that the inquiry committee has placed blame on Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi and Principal Information Officer at the Press Information Department Rao Tehseen.

Sources told Geo News on Tuesday that the report, which has been presented to the government, recommends the removal of Tehseen. Fatemi's Foreign Affairs portfolio is likely to be changed following the recommendations in the report.

According to the sources, the inquiry report could not ascertain who leaked the information to the reporter. However, blame was put on a few people for failing to stop the publishing of the story.

The report says that the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) would decide on what action would be taken against the concerned newspaper.

The English-language daily, Dawn, had published the story on October 6 last year in which journalist Cyril Almeida had written about an alleged civil-military rift during the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting over the issue of tackling jihadi outfits.

The story stirred a major controversy, resulting in Almeida coming under fire from the military and government and being temporarily placed on the Exit Control List, before an inquiry was formed to probe the matter.

The inquiry committee comprised one member each from the ISI, MI and IB, Secretary Establishment Tahir Shahbaz, Ombudsman Punjab Najam Saeed, and an FIA director.