Pak Army to probe ex-ISI chief over book

ISLAMABAD : The Pakistan Army announced on Monday it will conduct an inquiry against former ISI chief Asad Durrani for co-authoring the book The Spy Chronicles with former RAW head AS Dulat.

The military’s media arm said in a brief statement that the “competent authority” had been approached to include Durrani’s name in the interior ministry’s Exit Control List (ECL). People included in the ECL are barred from leaving Pakistan.

Durrani, 77, has been in the eye of a storm in Pakistan since the recent release of the book that is described as a series of discussions between the two spy chiefs on a range of issues, including the situation in Kashmir, the 2008 Mumbai attacks and anti-India groups such as the LeT.

Lt Gen (retired) Durrani “was called to GHQ today to explain his position on the recently launched book Spy Chronicles. A formal Court of Inquiry headed by a

OPPOSITION SENATOR RAZA RABBANI HAD SAID IF A POLITICIAN HAD TEAMED UP WITH AN INDIAN COUNTERPART FOR A BOOK LIKE THIS, HE WOULD HAVE BEEN BRANDED A TRAITOR.

serving lieutenant general has been ordered to probe the matter in detail,” said the statement from the Pakistani military.

The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace has received an adverse response in sections of the Pakistani media. Durrani has been targeted by some commentators and retired generals for his revelations on a range of issues, including the Pakistani military’s role in building up the Hurriyat in Kashmir in the 1990s, and has even been accused of treason.