ISLAMABAD - The electronic media was rife with rumours that the Dawn leaks inquiry report pointed the finger at Prime Minister’s Adviser Tariq Fatemi and a top official of information ministry for leaking the story, but the government rejected these reports.

It was also claimed the inquiry report has recommended the PM to send both the men packing.

The assertions were rejected by State Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb. Interior ministry also issued a rejection, saying the report would, in fact, be presented to the prime minster today (Wednesday).

The guess game started after Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday with some media outlets flashing the news that the minister had presented the Dawn leaks inquiry report to the premier and the report held Fatemi and a high official of information ministry responsible for the security breach.

It could not be confirmed independently if the report was presented to the prime minister. But TV reports quoted unnamed PML-N sources as saying that the report has been presented to the PM. These sources however claimed that the report contained no specific recommendations against certain officials in both the ministries.

Late Tuesday interior ministry through a press release denied presentation of report to the prime minister, which was formally presented to the interior minister at 6:45pm.

The spokesman wondered that how one could comment on the report before examining it. He regretted that certain elements were bent upon giving certain angles to the news about the report which was not gone through even by the interior minister himself yet.

The spokesman quoted Interior Minister Ch Nisar as saying that the report would be presented to the prime minister today (Wednesday)and its details would be made public after the approval of the PM.

Media reports had claimed that the seven-member inquiry committee headed by Justice (r) Amir Raza had handed over the report to the interior minister a few days back.

A couple of weeks back, Nisar at a press conference had hinted that the inquiry was at the final stage and he would present it to the prime minister. But he did not give any specific timeline for making it public.

Soon after the story, dubbed as Dawn leaks, was published by journalist Cyril Almeida, the prime minister had sought resignation from former information minister Pervaiz Rashid for failing to get it stopped.

Now, the media reports claimed that Rashid’s name has been cleared. According to claims, the report states that as many as 11 attempts were made by the newspaper for confirmation or rejection of the story but he didn’t receive any call or replied any message.

As for Adviser Fatemi, sources said he had spent a lot of time at the Prime Minister’s House on Tuesday as he was also in attendance of the meeting when the Maldives Foreign Minister called on the prime minister.

Some insiders at the PM House confirmed that Fatemi also held a separate meeting with the prime minister in the presence of the interior minister. Nothing could be said with certainty what transpired in the meeting.

Several attempts were made to contact Fatemi on his cell phone but he was not available for comment.

Some media channels quoted people close to Fatemi as saying that the Adviser had nothing to do with the whole episode and he would not quit in the light of the inquiry report.

Officials at PM Office dealing with the media were so tight-lipped on the issue that even they were not ready to officially confirm the meeting of interior minister with the prime minister at all.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Tuesday said that speculations about the Dawn leaks inquiry report should be stopped.

Talking to media persons here, she urged the media to show restraint and refrain from irresponsible reporting in this regard.

A couple of weeks back, Nisar at a press conference had hinted that the inquiry was at the final stage and he would present it to the prime minister. But he did not give any specific timeline for making it public.

Soon after the story, dubbed as Dawn leaks, was published by journalist Cyril Almeida, the prime minister had sought resignation from former information minister Pervaiz Rashid for failing to get it stopped.

Now, the media reports claimed that Rashid’s name has been cleared. According to claims, the report states that as many as 11 attempts were made by the newspaper for confirmation or rejection of the story but he didn’t receive any call or replied any message.

As for Adviser Fatemi, sources said he had spent a lot of time at the Prime Minister’s House on Tuesday as he was also in attendance of the meeting when the Maldives Foreign Minister called on the prime minister.

Some insiders at the PM House confirmed that Fatemi also held a separate meeting with the prime minister in the presence of the interior minister. Nothing could be said with certainty what transpired in the meeting.

Several attempts were made to contact Fatemi on his cell phone but he was not available for comment.

Some media channels quoted people close to Fatemi as saying that the Adviser had nothing to do with the whole episode and he would not quit in the light of the inquiry report.

Officials at PM Office dealing with the media were so tight-lipped on the issue that even they were not ready to officially confirm the meeting of interior minister with the prime minister at all.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Tuesday said that speculations about the Dawn leaks inquiry report should be stopped.

Talking to media persons here, she urged the media to show restraint and refrain from irresponsible reporting in this regard.