ISLAMABAD: Retired Lt Gen Asad Durrani, former director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), has filed a petition before the Islamabad High Court (IHC), seeking removal of his name from the no-fly list.

He has adopted in the petition that he intends to travel abroad in connection with his professional commitment and to meet his children living abroad.

The federal government on May 29 put the name of Mr Durrani on the Exit Control List (ECL) following the Pakistan Army’s request to impose a travel ban on him. The decision was taken after Mr Durrani visited the General Headquarters on May 28 to clarify his stance in The Spy Chronicles, a book co-authored by him and Amarjit Singh Dulat, former chief of Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

Asad Durrani says inquiry has been initiated against him without jurisdiction, and illegally

Mr Durrani says in the petition, filed by his counsel, that he and his wife are proud Pakistanis and do not hold any other nationality. The counsel stated that the petitioner had retired from Pakistan Army in 1993 as a three-star general and since then he had served as Pakistan’s ambassador to Germany and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He said Mr Durrani had numerously represented Pakistan in various seminars, conferences and dialogues, both nationally and around the world.

He cited the secretaries of defence and interior as respondents.

According to the petition, Mr Durrani’s name was put on the ECL without any prior notice. The reason given in the ECL order was an ongoing inquiry against Mr Durrani, the counsel said.

On Sept 5, the petition reads, Mr Durrani requested the adjutant general of Pakistan Army to remove his name from the ECL on account of professional commitment and that he and his wife wanted to visit their grandchildren living abroad. After receiving no response, it added, Mr Durrani on Sept 13 requested the federal government to review its decision. The petition stated that both respondents failed to respond to Mr Durrani’s requests for removing his name from the ECL.

The petition maintained that Mr Durrani had retired from the army over 25 years ago and is not subject to the provisions of the Pakistan Army Act, 1952. Therefore, it said, any inquiry initiated against him had been done without jurisdiction and illegally.

It said Mr Durrani had a right to enter upon a lawful profession and earn a living as guaranteed by Article 18 of the Constitution. It went on to say that Mr Durrani had numerously spoken, defended and represented the country’s position on matters of national and international importance and that he had been invited to the Herat Security Dialogue scheduled to be held on Oct 26 and 27 in Herat, Afghanistan.

According to the petition, if Mr Durrani is not allowed to travel abroad, it will leave Pakistan unrepresented in that international event.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2018