IHC orders removal of former DG ISI Durrani's name from ECL

(Karachi) The Islamabad High Court has ordered the removal of former DG ISI Lieutenant General (retired) Asad Durrani’s name from the Exit Control List, local media reported on Thursday.

The judgment was announced by Chief Justice Athar Minallah after hearing the arguments in the case. The court stated that Durrani has the same rights as other Pakistanis under the Constitution.

As per details, Durrani filed a petition against the Interior Ministry and government in June 2019 for putting his name on the no-fly list for writing a controversial book.

In 2018, the Military Intelligence had written a letter to the Ministry of Interior to put Durrani’s name on the ECL for co-authoring a book The Spy Chronicles with former Indian spy master Amarjit Singh Dulat.

The book contained “certain contents containing national security of Pakistan” which is a violation of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, the Ministry of Defence said in response to Durrani’s petition.

Former DG ISPR Asif Ghafoor said in a February 2019 press conference that Durrani was found guilty of violating the military’s code-of-conduct by co-authoring the book with former Indian intelligence chief. His pension and other benefits were also withdrawn by the army.