‘Spy Chronicles’ causes a stir

PAKISTAN ARMY PROBES NEW BOOK AS AUTHOR GROUNDED

PAKISTAN’S army ordered an inquiry on Monday (28) into a former spy chief for co-writing a book with the ex-chief of an in­telligence agency from India that has stirred controversy on a range of issues.

Retired lieutenant general Asad Dur­rani, who headed Inter Services Intelli­gence (ISI) from 1990 to 1992, was also placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) stopping him from leaving the country, according to the military spokesman.

The US raid that killed Osa­ma bin Laden is the most thorny issue in the book.

Durrani has been mired in controversy since last week’s release of The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace. He wrote the book with AS Dulat, who headed India’s Research and Analysis Wing intelligence agency.

It is based on a series of discussions between the two on various subjects including tense relations with India and Pakistan’s alleged interfer­ence through proxies in Afghanistan and Kashmir.

The US has long accused the ISI in particular of backing militants in Af­ghanistan, including the Taliban. Is­lamabad denies the claims.

“A formal Court of Inquiry headed by a serving Lt. Gen. has been ordered to probe the matter in detail,” the army said.

The army barred retired Lt. Gen. Dur­rani from leaving the country, saying he had violated the military code of conduct. “The ISI probably learnt about OBL (Osa­ma bin Laden) and he was handed over to the United States according to a mu­tually agreed process,” Durrani wrote.

This contradicts Pakistan’s official stance that it only knew of the US raid on May 2, 2011, which targeted the compound where bin Laden was holed up, after the US stealth helicopters had left its territory. The compound is in the northern city of Abbotabad, next to an army academy that produces officers.

“The denial of any (Pakistani) role was because cooperating with the Unit­ed States to eliminate a person regard­ed by many in Pakistan as a “hero” could have embarrassed the govern­ment,” Durrani said in the book.

“(India’s) assessment is the same, that Osama bin Laden was handed over to the United States by Pakistan,” Dura­ni’s co-author Dulat wrote.

Other sensitive topics broached in the book include the Pakistani spy agency’s interference in politics and Is­lamabad’s support for groups fighting Indian forces in Kashmir.

Earlier on Monday, Durrani was summoned to the Pakistani military headquarters for allegedly violating the institution’s code of conduct over com­ments he made in the book. The mili­tary did not specify which comments had prompted the meeting.

It then announced a court of inquiry into Durrani’s alleged misconduct and said he had been placed on the ECL, marking the first instance such controls have been placed on a former spy chief. (Agencies)