Sirisena’s office did not give a reason for the sacking. Halfway through the testimony, the live telecast of the proceedings was stopped on the president’s orders, official sources said.

A ministerial source said Sirisena has refused to allow any police, military or intelligence personnel to testify before the committee.

“The cabinet meeting ended inconclusively,” the source said on condition of anonymity. “The government did not agree to suspend the PSC either.”

Police said in a statement that Sirisena met senior officers and told them he doesn’t favour intelligence officers being summoned by a parliamentary committee to discuss sensitive details in the presence of the media.

Sirisena promised to protect officers who refuse to attend the committee hearings, according to the police.

Sirisena’s office did not comment on the outcome of the heated cabinet meeting, but said the president told senior police officers on Friday he will not allow any serving officer to testify before the PSC.

Sirisena’s defence secretary and police chief have suggested the president, who is also the minister of defence and law and order, did not follow proper protocols in dealing with intelligence reports, including advance warnings about the April 21 bombings.

Sirisena has repeatedly denied he was aware of an impending threat.

A local extremist organisation and Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks against three churches and three luxury hotels.

Official sources said New Delhi provided details of attack plans based on information from an extremist in Indian custody.

In Sri Lanka, rising Islamic militancy was the proverbial elephant in the room

The government admitted there were intelligence failures before the attacks, in which 45 foreigners died.

Sirisena subsequently suspended police chief Pujith Jayasundara and dismissed his top defence official Hemasiri Fernando.

Jayasundara told the committee on Friday that Sirisena asked him to resign to take responsibility for the blasts and ensured that he will have his name cleared in any subsequent inquiry.

He also said Sirisena asked him not to attend National Security Council meetings since last October, when Sirisena fired Prime Minister Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in a power struggle that triggered a seven-week political crisis. Wickremesinghe was subsequently reinstated by the Supreme Court.

Sri Lanka has been under a state of emergency since the attacks.

Additional reporting by Associated Press