Talat Hussain questions ARY News' claim

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 7 February 2017

Talat Hussain has challenged ARY News' assertion regarding the Dawn Leaks commission report. He raised concerns about the reliability of their sourced information.

Summary

ISLAMABAD - Talat Hussain, host of Naya Pakistan on Geo, has questioned ARY News’ claim of having excerpts of a commission’s report probing Dawn Leaks.

On Monday night ARY claimed having the excerpts, saying the report contains phone call record of Cyril Almeida, whose story on October 6 – Act against militants or face international isolation, civilians tell military - led to tensions in civilian-military relations and the formation of a commission.

ARY said three people including a minister and an advisor have been held responsible. Pervaiz Rasheed had to step down as information minister in the wake of Dawn Leaks.

The inquiry commission headed by Justice (Retd) Amir Raja Khan, formed on November 7 last year, was to submit its report within one month. However, it was given extension. The six members of the commission include representatives of security agencies – ISI, MI and IB.

In one of his tweets, Talat Hussain wondered if the “ongoing reporting on #Dawnleaks final report is itself based on ‘leaks’.” He added that “like good and bad Taliban we have haram and halal leaks.”

In another tweet he questioned the veracity of ARY News report. “Those claiming 2 hv copy of #Dawnleaks topsecret report mst b askd abt their source. Infact a commission mst b formd 2 probe leaks on Dawnleaks.”

KEY POINTS:

• Talat Hussain is a host on Geo's Naya Pakistan.
• ARY News claimed to have excerpts of a commission's report on Dawn Leaks.
• Cyril Almeida's story led to significant tensions in civilian-military relations.
• Talat questioned the authenticity of ARY's claims and their sources.
• The commission, led by Justice (Retd) Amir Raja Khan, has faced delays in reporting.