ISLAMABAD: Former military strongman General (r) Pervez Musharraf has said that the book by former spymaster Lt Gen (r) Asad Durrani was not a conspiracy but “foolishness”.
“I was surprised when I found out that Pakistan and India’s former spy chiefs had co-authored a book,” said the former dictator in an interview to a private media channel.
Questioning how two people with different views can co-author a book, Musharraf said, “let the army decide Durrani’s fate.” Musharraf added that he knew Durrani as he was his senior and an instructor at Command and Staff College. “He used to check our mistakes which was not his job,” the former president complained.
He also claimed that he had removed the former spymaster as ambassador to Saudi Arabia due to his “poor performance”.
Referring to the Kargil operation, the former president claimed that Durrani had admonished the operation in the book as he was able to pull it off with reasonable success.
“He was senior to me and believed that I should have learnt from him, but I conducted the operation,” Musharraf said. “An army official should feel ashamed about bad mouthing the operation.” He added that deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif had said that it would be a moment of joy when the Pakistani flag is hoisted in Srinagar.
While defending the Lal Masjid operation, Musharraf said, “One colonel lost his life in a bid to rescue the children while 13 SSG commandos were also martyred,” he added.
Before concluding his interview, the retired general said that he was granted bail in the Akbar Bugti murder case by caretaker prime minister Justice (r) Nasirul Mulk as he was innocent.
On Monday, the Pakistan Army had ordered a Court of Inquiry against Durrani and had recommended placing his name on the Exit Control List (ECL) after his candid views on various matters of regional and global concern in a book, that he co-authored with former India’s Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) chief Amarjit Singh Dulat, came under intense public scrutiny in Pakistan.
Following the order, the Interior Ministry placed Durrani’s name on ECL.