IHC orders Defence Ministry to submit inquiry report on Gen Durrani

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ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday ordered the Defence Ministry to submit an inquiry report of the investigation carried out against the former director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt Gen (r) Asad Durrani within one month.

A single judge bench, headed by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, while hearing a case pertaining to the removal of Durrani’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL), gave a last chance to the ministry to submit its report.

“Just apprise the court if no action is being pursued against 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 then adjourned till Feb 21.

Last year, on May 29, the Ministry of Interior placed Durrani’s name on the ECL after the General Headquarters (GHQ) ordered a probe against him over his disclosures in a book, The Spy Chronicles, co-authored by the former RAW chief, Amarjit Singh Dulat.

Durrani, who served as the ISI chief between August 1990 and 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, amongst others, in an event organized 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 incumbent Indian National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval’s way of functioning, the Kashmir problem and several other issues between India and Pakistan.