Pakistan Army bars ISI ex-chief Asad Durrani, 2 ISPR ex-DGs from appearing on media as defence analysts

Asad Durrani had co-authored the book ‘The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace', with former RAW chief A S Dulat in India, over which he was held guilty by the Pakistan Army for violating military code of conduct.

Pakistani Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Pakistani Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi (C), Pakistani Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan (top-R) and Pakistani Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Zubair Mahmood Hayat (2L)/ (Image taken on March 23, 2018 by AAMIR QURESHI / AFP)

New Delhi: Pakistan Army has denied permission to its spy agency ISI's ex-chief Lt Gen (retd.) Asad Durrani who co-authored the book ‘The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace', with former RAW chief A S Dulat in India, to appear on media as defence analyst. Two other former head of the military's media wing,  have also been denied permission by the army to appear on media as defence analysts. As per a report in the Dawn, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), which is Pakistan Army’s media wing, has allowed 26 retired officers of the armed forces to appear on media as defence analysts, in a notification issued on Monday. "The prominent omissions are Brig (retd.) Mahmood Shah, Lt Gen (retd.) Asad Durrani, Lt Gen (retd.) Talat Masood, Maj Amir (retd.) and DG ISPR Maj Gen (retd.) Athar Abbas and Maj Gen (retd.) Rashid Quershi," the Dawn reported, citing the notification. Durrani and Masood are among those retired Lt-Generals who frequently appeared on the Indian media. "Their views/comments/opinions on media shall remain personal/independent expression and not attributable to the institution," the notification said. It also said that any other retired officer desirous of appearing as defence analyst can contact the ISPR to obtain a no-objection certificate. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority recently instructed all TV channels to seek prior clearance from the ISPR before inviting retired military officers on news and current affairs programmes "to solicit their views on matters of national security". The media regulator, in a notification dated April 4, stated that “concerned quarters” have observed that retired military officers, when invited on TV programmes, “are usually not fully conversant with the latest defence and security developments due to their service background and post-retirement time”, the report said. Durrani was held guilty by the Pakistan Army of violating military code of conduct by co-authoring the controversial book with India’s former Raw chief A S Dulat. He was punished by stopping his pension and other benefits, PTI said. Durrani, headed the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from August 1990 till March 1992. The powerful army had ordered a Court of Inquiry against Durrani over the book in which the two former spy chiefs touched upon some thorny issues including terrorism, particularly Mumbai attack, Kashmir and the influence of intelligence agencies. At the same time, Durrani is also not allowed to leave the country due to his name being on no-fly list. (Additional inputs from PTI)