Daily Times

The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace has sparked a new debate across Pakistan, with many terming it part of the 5th generation and hybrid warfare against Pakistan. The book is co-authored by former ISI chief Lt general Asad Durrani (retired) and former RAW chief Amarjit Singh Dulat, and is moderated by journalist Aditya Sinha. Durrani was summoned to the GHQ to explain his position over co-authoring the book, and his views published therein.

A court of inquiry has been ordered under a three-star general to investigate Durrani’s violation of the military code of conduct, and authoring a book without getting it reviewed by security officials. Principally, once an officer retires from Pakistan’s Army, irrespective of his rank, he signs a non-disclosure agreement that he will abide by the Official Secret Act of 1923 and nothing will be communicated contrary to the safety and interest of the state.

This book has recently been made available in the market; however, digital copies of the book soon went viral on social media after it first broke out. This makes one think that selling the book was not the aim; rather promoting hostile propaganda seems to be the order of the day, given the contents of the book, and the timing of its release.

The book has been well received in India and this is evident from the fact that bigwigs like Dr Manmohan Singh, Hamid Ansari, Yashwant Sinha, Farooq Abdullah and AS Dulat attended the launch. Some consider the book a deliberate Indian effort to defame and tarnish the image of the armed forces of Pakistan.

Durrani has given out information about highly classified issues, contrary to his counterpart AS Daulat, who has been cautious, tactful, diplomatic, and did not reveal any state secrets

Durrani has given out information about highly classified issues, contrary to his counterpart AS Dulat, who has been cautious, tactful, diplomatic, and did not reveal any state secrets. Durrani comments that the all Parties Hurriyat Conference is the creation of Pakistan to provide political direction to the resistance in Kashmir. This revelation is contrary to Pakistan’s official stance that it supports people of Kashmir morally and diplomatically.

Dulat adds that control of militancy in Kashmir is possible with the support of Pakistan’s army and if Pakistan wants to stop terrorism it can do so any time. Durrani advocates a strange philosophy, that you cannot have the country’s interest at heart if you don’t have your region’s interest at heart.

On Kulbhushan Jadhav, Durrani says that Pakistan mishandled the case claiming that the RAW agent will eventually be handed over to India. He further adds that when Pakistan revealed the arrest of Jadhav, the idea must have been to counter Indian threats after the Pathankot incident. Dulat advocates the theory that Jadhav was kidnapped and brought to Balochistan and disagrees with his involvement in training Baloch militants.

Durrani also commented on the Kargil operation, and said that it was foolish, which was why it misfired. He further accused Musharraf of misjudging India’s strong reaction to his long-time obsession.

On Balochistan, Durrani is of the view that Pakistan’s policy from the very beginning has been faulty. He also says that in Pakistan there is a myth about the number of Indian consulates along western border, numbering between 18 to 23. He clarifies on behalf of India that there are only four Indian consulates and one embassy in Afghanistan.

He further defends India by saying that Pakistan is overplaying India’s involvement in Balochistan, and gives a clean chit to India, and accuses US of being involved in Balochistan by supporting Jundullah, which is targeting Shia Muslims in Balochistan and operates inside Sistan in Iran.

In the entire book, there is no mention of the bombing of Samjhota Express, which killed 68 Pakistani nationals in India. Initially, Laskhar-e-Tayaiba (LeT) was accused. However, Swami Aseemanand, a Hindu extremist belonging to Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) confessed his involvement in the bombing.

Furthermore, the two spymasters have made no reference to The Betrayal of India by Elias Davidson, who claimed that India was involved in the Mumbai attacks. Dulat further accuses Pakistan of being behind most terrorist acts that have taken place in India.

On Osama Bin Laden, both Durrani and Dulat believe that Pakistan army was on board in the US raid that killed him. Durrani further adds that Pakistan probably found out at some stage, cooperated and handed him over to the US in a way they got the credit. Durrani also says that not only Dr Shakeel Afridi helped US in locating Osama Bin Laden but was also facilitated by a retired Pakistani intelligence officer who left Pakistan after getting the reward.

Durrani also links the visit of General Kayani and General Pasha to the US aircraft carrier in the raid. General Kayani has clarified that he did not know about the Osama Bin Laden raid and there is absolutely no question of any collusion or cooperation with the US as explained by Syed Raza Mehdi in his article.

On Akhand Bharat, Durrani fully supports the Indian narrative, the consideration for a confederation and a united India, and informs with pride that he was born an Indian in Rawalpindi. To support his concept of a unified India, Durrani refers to the idea of united Europe, which was conceived by Churchill. He further explains that borders are drawn, redrawn and re-redrawn. He says that Delhi can be the capital of the union.

Durrani also negates the two-nation theory by saying that Quaid-e-Azam’s uncompromising objective was not Pakistan, as he floated this idea to get the best deal for the Muslims.

General Durrani has played to the western and Indian gallery by accusing the ISI and army. No doubt, Durrani’s action put him in league with Hussain Haqqani, Ayesha Sidiqqa, and some bloggers, who write frequently against the armed forces of Pakistan. He contradicts the country’s narrative on various issues, including national security.

Now, it is up to the army to handle the matter. How will they address this violation by an official who has unveiled such secrets? Secrets that are highly classified and detrimental to national security.

The writer is a retired brigadier and currently commissioner of the Afghan Refugees Organisation, Balochistan

Published in Daily Times, July 10^th 2018.