Fatemi refuses to bow out without a fight

PM’s former aide rejects allegations as ‘false and baseless’

ISLAMABAD: The controversy surrounding the findings of an inquiry board into the Dawn Leaks issue appears to be far from over. One of the three officials held responsible for the leak on Tuesday strongly rejected the allegations of his involvement in the scandal that pitted the civilian government against the military.

In a farewell letter addressed to Foreign Office officials, Tariq Fatemi, the prime minister’s special assistant on foreign affairs, dismissed the charges against him as ‘false and baseless.’ Fatemi was sent packing in light of the findings of the inquiry committee that had been tasked to investigate the scandal and fix responsibility.

Fatemi, along with Rao Tehsin Ali, the principal information officer of the information ministry, was held responsible for the ‘fabricated’ news story published in daily Dawn in October last year.

Pervaiz Rashid had also been asked to step down as federal information minister for his “failure to stop Dawn from publishing the story” that talked of differences between the civil and military leadership on how to deal with certain militant outfits.

PM sacks Tariq Fatemi over Dawn Leaks controversy

While Rashid and Tehsin kept quiet, Fatemi decided to contest the allegations.

“I reject the recent allegations, insinuations and innuendos,” Fatemi said in the letter, which was leaked to the media by some Foreign Office official. “Such allegations are particularly hurtful to someone who has served Pakistan for nearly five decades with honour and integrity,” he lamented.

“Over the years, I have had to deal with many sensitive matters, becoming privy to some of the most highly classified information, on issues of national security,” the former envoy upheld.

“I have also had the honour of working directly under distinguished diplomats, both professional as well as political appointees, all of whom reposed their highest trust in my abilities and particularly so, in my lifelong commitment to discretion. You would appreciate that taking due care and caution becomes a second nature in our professional careers,” Fatemi added.



Fatemi has a long association with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif dating back to the PML-N’s second government in 1997.  Since then, Fatemi has remained a close aide of Sharif on foreign policy matters. Fatemi’s portfolio may have been withdrawn but he is unlikely to be completely ditched by Sharif.

Meanwhile, speaking at a farewell ceremony at the Foreign Office, Fatemi reportedly made an emotional speech contesting the findings of the Dawn Leaks inquiry commission. The ceremony, according to sources, was attended by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and other senior officials.