IHC orders MoD to submit inquiry report on Asad Durrani

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Thursday ordered the Defence Ministry to submit an inquiry report of the investigation carried out against erstwhile spymaster Lt Gen (retd) Asad Durrani within one month, reported ARY News.

A single judge bench headed by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, hearing a case pertaining to the ex-inter service intelligence (ISI) chief’s name’s removal from the Exit Control List (ECL) gave a last chance to the ministry of defence.

“Just apprise the court if no action is being pursued against Asad Durrani,” said Justice Kayani. “If action is being taken then submit the inquiry report in the court.”

Durrani was represented by Umar Farrukh Adam whereas Brigadier Falak Naz represented the defence ministry.

The hearing was adjourned till Feb 21.

Last year, on May 29, the ministry of interior placed Durrani’s name on the ECL after he Pakistan army ordered a probe against him over his disclosures in a book co-authored by a former Indian spy chief.

Durrani, who served as the ISI chief from August 1990 till March 1992, co-authored the book titled ‘The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace’ with  Dulat.

The book was released jointly by India’s former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Vice president Hamid Ansari, former Union minister Yashwant Sinha and a few others in the event organised in New Delhi on May 24, 2017.

The book has been styled as a conversation between two spymasters and covers a wide range of subjects including India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval’s way of functioning, the Kashmir problem and several other issues between India and Pakistan.