Pak civilian govt, military settle row over Dawn Leaks
Pakistan’s civilian government and the powerful military on Wednesday resolved a row over a newspaper report on differences between the two institutions on tackling terrorism, with the army saying it is committed to backing the democratic process.
Statements issued by the government and the military said the “Dawn Leaks” issue – a reference to a report in Dawn newspaper about a high-level meeting on October 3, 2016 during which civilian leaders had spoken out about the “growing international isolation” of Pakistan for failing to act against some terror groups – had been “settled”.
Analysts said the settlement followed intense discussions between the civil and military leadership following fears of a confrontation. It also followed a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa that was attended ISI head Naveed Mukhtar and finance minister Ishaq Dar. The military’s chief spokesman had created a flutter by tweeting on April 29 that the action taken by the Prime Minister’s Office in the matter was being “rejected” because it was “incomplete”.
Following an official inquiry, the government had sacked Tariq Fatemi, the Prime Minister’s special assistant on foreign affairs, and initiated disciplinary action against a senior official for their purported role in leaking information about the meeting in October 2016.
The army took a step back on Wednesday, with a brief statement saying the Dawn Leaks issue had been settled as the inquiry report’s recommendations had been implemented. The statement added that military spokesman’s tweet was withdrawn as it was “infructuous”. “The tweet on April 29was not aimed at any government office or person…Pakistan Army reiterates its firm commitment ...to uphold the constitution.”