Maryam's name never mentioned in Dawn Leaks probe, says Nisar

LAHORE: Former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday said at no stage of the Dawn Leaks investigation Maryam Nawaz’s name came to light, ARY News reported.

“I was heading the first overview committee on Dawn Leaks and Maryam’s name was never mentioned at any stage of the probe,” he said in a statement.

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He said when he was interior minister he had asked to release the Dawn Leaks report and he would again request the government to release the report.

“It is on record I have asked to make it public for it would clarify many things,” he said.

What are the Dawn Leaks?

The news story, highlighting alleged confrontation between the civilian government and the military at a meeting in October 2016, published by Dawn newspaper last year erupted with a storm in national politics and shortly it transformed into a news leak scandal before becoming a mainstream media fodder.

It all started when the Dawn journalist Cyril Almeida “broke confidential minutes” of a meeting among the government and military officials on ‘national action plan’ in which the civilians reportedly apprised the military of mounting international pressure of more action against armed groups.

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The civilian government’s representatives at the meeting gave warning that Pakistan could face international isolation if the security establishment did not take the recommended course of action and what followed suit was the hornet’s nest in the military ranks.

Almeida’s exclusive story came against a backdrop of mounting border tensions between India and Pakistan following a claim by the Indian government of a cross-border “surgical strike” by their on September 18.