How Dawn Leaks ruined
Pakistan Army’s credibility
GVS Analysis |
On May 10th 2017, the nation witnessed a historic compromise between the civil and military establishment over the “Dawn Leaks” issue. In quick succession, both ISPR and the Ministry of Interior released notifications which resolved the matter.
On its website, ISPR’s press release stated that the April 29th tweet by Director General ISPR Asif Ghafoor, which rejected the measures outlined by the Prime Minister’s Secretariat on the Dawn leaks issue, was hereby withdrawn. The ISPR release also proclaimed the Army’s commitment to safeguarding democracy and termed the Dawn leaks matter as resolved.
The fabricated story published by Dawn was, in essence, a breach of Pakistan’s national security. From the outset, this was the adopted stance of both Army and the PML-N government.
Immediately after the ISPR’s statement, the Ministry of Interior released a ‘fresh’ notification which seemed to be drafted rather hastily because it contained several misspellings. The only addition in the notification was the endorsement of actions taken against ex-information minister Pervaiz Rasheed. The notification did not specify the charges on the basis of which he was sacked.
The fabricated story published by Dawn was, in essence, a breach of Pakistan’s national security. From the outset, this was the adopted stance of both Army and the PML-N government. The inquiry commission assembled to investigate this ‘breach’ was directed to unmask the perpetrators behind this fabrication. The committee compiled and submitted its report on 25th April following which the Prime Minister’s secretariat releaseda notification which outlined the measures taken by the government on this issue. This led to the publication of the aforementioned tweet by the DG ISPR which ‘rejected’ the notification. Subsequently, the discussions on media platforms and public forums reflected a renewed hope in the military’s capability when it came to national security issues. However, this strain of speculation has now been proven unsubstantiated.
The change in temperature of the military’s resolve on issues of national importance has serious immediate consequences. Specifically, the nature of its role in the joint investigation team responsible for conducting the inquiry into the purported financial wrong-doings of the Prime Minister.
After all the events and yesterday’s anticlimactic resolution of the Dawn leaks saga, the real perpetrators of this national security breach have neither been identified nor has any punitive action been taken against them. In the backdrop of escalating hostilities on the Indian and Afghan borders, it seems the army has withdrawn from and discarded its previous stance which identified Dawn leaks as a propagation of the enemy narrative. Following this bathos in the Army’s effort to secure national interests, the prevalent perception of the military’s moral strength and capacity to secure the nation’s interests has been dealt a heavy blow.
This unfortunate outcome can be interpreted, in effect, as a victory for interests hostile to Pakistan.
The change in temperature of the military’s resolve on issues of national importance has serious immediate consequences. Specifically, the nature of its role in the joint investigation team responsible for conducting the inquiry into the purported financial wrong-doings of the Prime Minister.
The inclusion of members of the ISI and MI (who were also, coincidentally, part of Dawn leaks inquiry commission) in the Panama JIT was perceived as a move to add the military institutional integrity to the proceedings. This was meant to give weight to the inquiry’s proceedings and placate fears of the public and political opposition who had questioned the independence of this team.
Imran Khan, chief of PTI and the main proponent behind the movement to hold the Prime Minister accountable, stated in a tweet that the Dawn leaks issue was not exclusive to the civil-military establishment.
The Dawn leaks anticlimax has effectively destroyed any intelligent argument that could be used to justify the inclusion of the Army in the JIT. The nature of the investigation is that of financial forensics which by no stretch falls under the capability and mandate of the military.
This realization did not take long to sink into the minds of media and political strata as evident by the discussions which took place on news programs on the 10th of May.
Imran Khan, chief of PTI and the main proponent behind the movement to hold the Prime Minister accountable, stated in a tweet that the Dawn leaks issue was not exclusive to the civil-military establishment as it affected the interests of the whole nation.
Aitzaz Ahsan, the PPP opposition leader in the Senate, went so far as to say that the DG ISPR should have resigned rather than take back his tweet. He compared Pervaiz Rasheed, Rao Tehsin, and Tariq Fatemi to sacrificial lambs, disposed-off to save the “King and his Princess”.
The consensus forming in political circles now suggests that the opposition must harness the public if it wants to mount pressure on the government regarding the identification of actual perpetrators behind Dawn leaks.
This is a developing situation.