Nawaz urges formation of commission to inquire into Asad Durrani controversy

ISLAMABAD: Deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, while weighing on the controversy that followed the launching of a book written by former chief of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen (retd) Asad Durrani, said that a national inquiry commission should be formed to probe into the claims made by former ISI chief in his book.

Speaking to journalists outside the accountability court on Tuesday, Nawaz said that there is no point of investigating just one person adding that Durrani’s revelations should be investigated by constituting a commission that includes the representatives from judiciary, establishment, civil society and the parliament.

“After consultation, a national inquiry commission should be formed to probe into the statements of Durrani, as we have to protect our nation in future and for that reason, we will have to dig deep into the matter at hand,” he added.

“Former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf and former Chief of General Staff (CGS) Shahid Aziz have also written on the similar subject in their books,” Nawaz noted.

Durrani was summoned by the Pakistan Army’s General Headquarters (GHQ)  soon after former premier Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani criticized authoring a book by former ISI chief with his Indian counterpart.

On Monday, Durrani appeared before GHQ to explain his stance on the book.

Major General Asif Ghafoor, director-general of the Inter-Services Public Relations, wrote on Twitter that a formal Court of Inquiry headed by a serving lieutenant general had been ordered to probe the matter in detail.

Durrani, who served as the chief of Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency from August 1990 to March 1992, came under fire over his remarks made in his book, titled The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace, which he co-authored with former chief of Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) AS Dulat.