Former ISI chief Muhammad Asad Durrani, who had previously heaped praises on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has now been barred from leaving Pakistan, as reported by Times of India.
As per the report, the Pakistan army has also ordered an inquiry into the book titled The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace, which records conversations between Durrani and former RAW chief AS Dulat. It was this book which records Durrani’s praise of Vajpayee, and has been called into contention by the Pakistani army under the “military code of conduct”.
This praise included him wishing for Pakistan to have a prime minister like Vajpayee. In our report, we had also questioned how Pakistan would react to the claims made by Durrani, and now the answer is here.
The trouble seems to have begun for Durrani on Saturday when Asif Ghafoor, the official spokesperson of the Pakistani Army tweeted that Durrani was being summoned to the General Headquarters (Pakistan Army) on 28 May to explain the positions taken by him in the aforementioned book.
Following the questioning on Monday, Ghafoor informed that following the meeting, a detailed probe has been ordered in the matter by a formal court of inquiry. Besides this, the interior ministry has been given a directive to place Durrani’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL):
Lt Gen Asad Durrani, Retired was called at GHQ today to explain his position on recently launched book ‘Spy Chronicles’. A formal Court of Inquiry headed by a serving Lt Gen has been ordered to probe the matter in detail. Competent authority approached to place his name on ECL.
— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) May 28, 2018
As per the TOI report, even though the views considered as controversial weren’t revealed by the army, some of the shocking claims by Durrani included the claim that erstwhile Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani was completely on-board with the US on the Navy Seals operation to eliminate Osama Bin Laden in 2011.
He has also claimed that Kulbushan Jadhav case has been mishandled by Pakistan.
