Pakistan Army summons former ISI chief over claims in new book
New Delhi, May 26 : The Pakistan Army has summoned former ISI chief Lt. Gen. Asad Durrani (retd) to explain his his position on views attributed to him in a book of dialogues with former Indian intelligence chief A.S. Dulat, accusing him of violating the "Military Code of Conduct".
Durrani, who was ISI's Director General between 1990 and 1991, has been summoned to General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi on May 28.
He will be asked to explain his position on views attributed to him in the book "Spy Chronicles", Pakistan Army spokesperson Maj. Gen Asif Ghafoor said in a tweet.
"Attribution (is being) taken as (a) violation of Military Code of Conduct applicable on all serving and retired military personnel," he added.
Durrani and former Secretary of India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), A.S. Dulat have participated in a book of dialogues, moderated by journalist Aditya Sinha.
"Spy Chronicles," throws light on the perspectives, assumptions and observations of the two spymasters on Kashmir; Hafiz Saeed and 26/11; Kulbhushan Jadhav; surgical strikes; the deal for Osama bin Laden; how the US and Russia feature in the India-Pakistan relationship; and how terror undermines the two countries' attempts at talks.
In the book Durrani makes an assessment that "the ISI probably learnt about" Osama bin Laden and "he was handed over to the US according to a mutually agreed process". Dulat maintains that the assessment from the Indian side "is the same. That he was handed over by Pakistan". However, when Dulat asks him about the deal, Durrani clarifies: "This was only my assessment".
On the issue of Kulbhushan Jadhav, Dulat says that if he was "really a RAW spy, then it's a pretty sloppy operation."
Durrani on the other hand believes that the revelation about Jadhav must have been done to counter the Indian threat after the January 2, 2016 attack on the Pathankot air base. "What was the threat," asks Dulat.
"That India is looking for links between Pathankot and our establishment. So we came up with a counter-argument that we know you've been doing this (in Balochistan)."
However, both of them maintain that India and Pakistan should have been discreet about the matter, ensuring the exchange of spies in each other's custody.
Military sources said that the army's General Headquarters had serious reservations over some of the comments in the book, terming them baseless and contrary to facts. Reports suggested that Pakistan's ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif had demanded an immediate meeting of National Security Committee (NSC) to discuss the contents of the book.
Several other politicians in Pakistan, including former Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan Raza Rabbani, have expressed their concerns over the book.
Dulat and Durrani met in cities like Istanbul, Bangkok and Kathmandu and their meetings produced a total of over 1.7 lakh words, about half of which find mention into the book.
The book was released jointly by former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Vice President Hamid Ansari, former Union minister Yashwant Sinha and other important figures from the political sphere here on Wednesday.
Durrani, in a video message, had said that he was "denied" the visa by the "Indian deep state".
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Sambhal violence orchestrated by BJP, govt to divert attention from poll rigging: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday alleged the violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district over the survey of a mosque was "orchestrated" by the BJP, the government and the administration "to divert attention from electoral malpractice".
Police used tear gas and "minor force" in the face of stone pelting by locals in Sambhal on Sunday as tension escalated during a second survey of the Mughal-era mosque, claimed to be originally the site of an ancient Hindu temple.
Ten people have been detained and a probe was launched into the violence, an official said.
Tension has been brewing in Sambhal over the past few days after the Jama Masjid was surveyed last Tuesday on the orders of a local court following a petition that claimed that a Harihar temple stood at the site.
A day after the Uttar Pradesh bypoll results were declared and the Samajwadi Party managed to win just two seats while the BJP and its ally RLD bagged the other seven, Yadav levelled serious allegations against the police and administration.
"A serious incident occurred in Sambhal. A survey team was deliberately sent in the morning to disrupt discussions about the elections. The intention was to create chaos so that no debate on election issues could happen," the Samajwadi Party chief claimed.
Citing reports, he said several people were injured in the violence in Sambhal and asked when a survey of the mosque was already done, why was a new survey conducted again and "that too in the morning and without preparation?"
"I don't want to go into the legal or procedural aspects, but the other side was not even heard. This was intentionally done to provoke emotions and avoid discussions on election rigging," Yadav said.
"What happened in Sambhal was orchestrated by the BJP, the government and the administration to divert attention from electoral malpractices," the former UP chief minister alleged.
Asserting that in democracy, true victory comes from the people, not the system, he said, "The new democracy created by the BJP ensures that people cannot vote while the system dominates."
He added that whenever an impartial investigation takes place, and the truth comes out through booth recordings and CCTV footage, it will be evident that "voters did not cast their votes and someone else became the voter inside the booth".
Yadav claimed that on the polling day, the police and the administration removed the Samajwadi Party's almost all booth agents and many supporters who wanted to vote.
"If voters were prevented from voting, then who cast the votes? If Samajwadi Party votes didn't reach those booths and our candidate didn't get support, then who voted there? This is a serious issue," he said.
"Additionally, there were two types of slips, -- one with a red mark and another regular slip. We raised this issue on the voting day itself, stating that the administration had created such arrangements, leading to discrimination," Yadav alleged.
The Samajwadi Party's candidate for the Kundarki assembly bypoll Haji Rizwan too has alleged that his supporters were prevented from voting.
The BJP's Ramveer Singh won the bypoll in the Kundarki seat by a margin of over 1.45 lakh votes.
