ISLAMABAD Feb 10 (TNS): Social, journalistic and some political circles have expressed shock over the revelation made by former interior minister Chaudhery Nisar Ali Khan that Principal Information Officer (PIO) of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Rao Tehsin and former special assistant to prime minister on foreign affairs Tariq Fatemi’s names were not mentioned in Dawn Leaks Inquiry Commission report.
During a news conference held here on Saturday Ch. Nisar has said that Dawn Leaks is a matter of sensitive nature and these misconceptions were heightened following statements made by Parvaiz Rashid that I had him removed. “All I can say at this point is that if I had him removed, why did a committee constituted by the prime minister not reinstate him,” Nisar said, adding that he did not have Rao Tehsin removed nor did his report mention Tehsin or Fatemi. “Who removed them?”
He himself questioned why Rao Tehsin Ali Khan and Tariq Fatemi were made to resign when their names were not mentioned in the Dawn Leaks.
Social and journalistic circles are of the opinion that if the then interior ministers himself gives testimony that the names of said officials were not mentioned in inquiry report then why they were made to resign from their jobs?
The say it is ironic that the official like Roa Tehseen in particular who has served the country in many departments with honor and dignity and has been remarkably media friendly was made scape goat at the end of his dignified career to hush up the dirt of others.
These circles have appealed Prime Minister, Army Chief and Chief Justice of Pakistan to take cognizance of the matter and order a fresh inquiry to identify the people who made these officials scape goats.
The story published in Dawn Newspaper in 2016 stirred a major controversy as it alleged that a confrontation had taken place between the civilian government and military during a National Security Committee meeting held in October that year.
The government termed the story fabricated while the Army’s top brass expressed serious concern over the “feeding of a false and fabricated story of an important security meeting.”
Pervaiz Rashid was removed from the post of information minister, while on the recommendations of an inquiry team, the portfolio of Tariq Fatemi was withdrawn and Rao Tehsin Ali, the principal information officer at the Information Ministry would be sanctioned.
The government on November 7, 2016 had constituted a six-member committee headed by former Justice Aamer Raza A Khan for holding a probe into a controversial story carried by Dawn on October 6 last year about a purported civil-military rift over handling of non-state actors.
The four-member committee was consisted of representatives of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Military Intelligence (MI). Secretary Establishment Tahir Shahbaz and Provincial Ombudsman Punjab Najam Saeed were also part of the committee along with Director FIA Usman Anwar.
Despite the fact that former Principal Information Officer (PIO) of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Rao Tehsin Ali Khan sent notices to the Ministry of Interior and Secretary Establishment of Government of Pakistan asking them to provide him copy of Dawn Leak Inquiry Commission Report within next seven days but he was not given the copy of report.
It may be mentioned that Dawn Leaks Inquiry Commission was formed by the Government of Pakistan to probe Dawn Leaks issue which became a case of national security breach. The Commission was formed under Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1956 (Act No. VI of 1956). Commission submitted its report to the Ministry of Interior that further sent the report to Prime Minister Secretariat.
Inquiry Commission Report was not made public and Prime Minister Secretariat through a notification took actions against former PIO Rao Tehsin Ali Khan, and Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi. Tariq Fatemi also expressed his dissatisfaction over his removal and called the allegations against him “absurd”.
Rao Tehsin was removed from his post and notification issued by Prime Minister Secretariat said that an action would be taken against him under the E&D rules 1973. He was directed to report Establishment division for further orders.
The notice sent to Ministry of Interior through Lawyers of Rao Tehsin Ali Khan had said that he (Rao Tehsin) is an aggrieved person and allegations had been leveled against him but inquiry report of the Commission had not been shared with him and he was removed from his position without knowing charges against him. Notice said that he had every right to contest decisions of Inquiry Commission to prove his innocence.
Rao Tehsin joined civil services in 1982 after qualifying competitive examination and was inducted in Information Services Group of the government of Pakistan. He held important posts in various departments of Ministry and abroad till he was clamped in Dawn Leaks issue.
