KARACHI: A police investigation team tasl(ed with investigating a `sting operation` carried out last month by a private television channel purportedly to expose weaknesses in the security mechanism for the Sindh Assembly has ruled out any flaws in the security for the legislature, according to a senior official.

The media team was found guilty of `criminal breach of trust` and it was proved the entire episode was a `drama engineered for the sake of the highest ratings` by the channel and anchor of its show, said Saddar Superintendent of Police Dr Samiullah Soomro quoting from the inquiry team`s report.

The official who led the probe told Dawn on Monday that the investigators found that the ARY News channel and its team had been planning for the `drama` for more than a month during which they developed a degree of trust with the securityofficials of the Sindh Assembly by exploiting their position as media personneland othersuchlinks.

He said that Kamran who carried the pistol and was a member of the media team had developed a rapport with two security staffers, Imtiaz Lashari and Ashig Buriro, and additional secretary of the assembly, Hasan Shah.

For past one and a half month, he had been working on the plan to seel< permission for sitting in the speaker`s lobby and also carried out reconnaissance in the meantime, he said.

Kamran visited the Sindh Assembly on April 26 and completed preparationsforthe sting operation, which was supposed to be carried out the next day on April 27. But it could not be done as the assembly session ended earlier at 12:30 pm that day. Therefore, the sting operation was postponed to April 29.

The officer said that Kamran managed to get the assembly pass with the help of the additional secretary who had issued him a letter to this effect allowing him to visit the assembly on April 26.

On April 29, Kamran entered the assembly premises without any pass and the security staffers Mr Lashari and Mr Buriro brought him bypassing the security system. Kamran was accompanied by one Wasim Kaiserwho had with him licence of the pistol, said the official.

SP Soomro revealed that the anchorperson, Iqrarul Hasan, was not issued any pass for the speaker`s lobby. He was given the pass for the press gallery but he tried to shove into the speaker`s gallery. He was stopped at three or four places and was told that he could not enter the speaker`s gallery on the basis of the pass meant for the press gallery, he said.

The inquiry report said the anchorperson managed to enter the speaker`s gallery with the help of the security personnel and by using `reference` of the additional secretary.

`We have come to the conclusion that it was a criminal breach of trust on part of the media team,` said SP Soomro while sharing findings of the inquiry report.

The security personnel and the senior officer of the assembly had put `trust` in the media team, they had not given them `permission` to bring arms into the assembly building, he said.

He claimed that they did not find any security lapse on part of police.

`We have recommended to the secretary of the Sindh Assembly to take departmental action against the two security staffers and the senior officer,` he said.