Chaudhry Nisar to expose ‘source’ of leak

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday allowed Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan a free hand to probe and expose those behind leaking a controversial news story that the military has termed a ‘serious breach of national security’.

In their second meeting in the last 24 hours at the Prime Minister’s House, both of them agreed to investigate the matter thoroughly in order to remove any mistrust between institutions, sources said.



According to them, Nisar took Premier Nawaz into confidence over development in the ongoing probe and the latter gave him free reign to investigate and expose those responsible for leaking the news, which both the government and military have denounced as ‘fabricated’.

Sources said some key government functionaries are suspected to have been involved in the leak, which has shaken up civil-military relations.



They said security agencies have already increased surveillance of some key Prime Minister’s House officials, adding that the government also has some clues to the possible source or sources of the report.

No government functionary or politician has so far been placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) in connection with the controversial news report carried by Dawn newspaper, sources close to the relevant authorities told The Express Tribune on Sunday.

The federal government is currently investigating the source of the controversial story by journalist Cyril Almeida which sent tremors through the country’s civil and military leadership. The interior ministry placed only Almeida on the no-fly list in connection to the inquiry, although he was removed from the ECL after a few days as well when the move invited much criticism from both local and international circles.



Even so, the sources said security agencies are monitoring the movement of some Prime Minister House officials round the clock.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in his last news conference on Thursday said two to three persons other than Almeida were on the government’s radar in connection with the probe about who gave the journalist the story.



The minister at the time said that those two or three suspects will not be allowed to travel abroad either. He added that the inquiry would be wrapped up in four days and vowed that those behind the ‘inaccurate’ story would be brought to justice.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2016.