*The Islamabad High Court has ordered the removal of former ISI DGLieutenant General (retired) Asad Durrani’s name from the Exit ControlList. *
Chief Justice Athar Minallah announced the verdict on Thursday afterhearing the arguments in the case. Durrani filed a petition against theinterior ministry and government in June 2019 for putting his name on theno-fly list for writing a controversial book.
Durrani has the same rights as other Pakistanis under the Constitution, thecourt said.
In 2018, the Military Intelligence had written a letter to the ministry ofinterior to put Durrani’s name on the ECL for co-authoring a book T*he SpyChronicles* with former Indian spy master Amarjit Singh Dulat.
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The book contained “certain contents containing national security ofPakistan” which is a violation of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, theMinistry of Defence said in response to Durrani’s petition. “The situationnecessitates that the petitioner’s name should be continued on [the] ECL,”the ministry said in its reply. “It is further highlighted that thepetitioner is affiliated/interacting with hostile elements, especiallyIndian RAW since 2008.”
Former ISPR DG Asif Ghafoor said in a February 2019 press conference thatDurrani was found guilty of violating the military’s code-of-conduct byco-authoring the book with former Indian intelligence chief. His pensionand other benefits were also withdrawn by the Army.
