Retired judge to head panel probing Cyril Almeida's 'fabricated' story

Islamabad [Pakistan], Nov. 6 (ANI): Pakistan security czar has said that a high-powered committee will be unveiled within a couple of days to investigate the issue of leaking an alleged 'fabricated' story about national security last month. "A retired high court judge will head the committee which comprises senior officials," a senior official quoted Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan as saying. The development came eight days after the government sacked information minister Pervaiz Rashid after preliminary investigations established a 'lapse' on his part vis-a-vis the publication of the controversial story by Cyril Almeida in one of the country's leading daily, The Dawn on October 6. The story came under much fire as it reported an alleged rift between the country's powerful military and the government for its failure to act against non-state actors. Almeida's name was even added to the Exit Control List to prevent him from traveling abroad. However it was later removed. The government repeatedly rebutted the story as 'false and fabricated', and the military leadership went on to call it a 'breach of national security'. The Interior Minister has repeatedly said that whoever was involved in leaking the story would be brought to justice as this story had given opportunity to foes to chargesheet Pakistan. (ANI)