Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday reiterated his demand for the formation of a national commission to inquire into the chequered civil-military history of the country.
Responding to a question about former ISI chief Lt Gen (retd) Asad Durrani’s visit to the General Headquarters (GHQ) over his recently published book, co-authored with former Raw chief AS Dulat, the former premier said that it would be of no use to interrogate a single person.
He said the national commission must be given the task to dig deeper into the issue, adding that the body must comprise personnel from the judiciary, security institutions, the civil society, and the Parliament.
Speaking further to reporters at the accountability court, Nawaz said Durrani wrote a book, but statements to the effect had been given by military dictator General (retd) Pervez Musharraf and former Chief of General Staff (CGS) Shahid Aziz.
On Monday, Durrani had appeared at the Pakistan Army’s General Headquarters (GHQ) to explain his position on the book.
Following the visit, Major General Asif Ghafoor, the director-general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), wrote on Twitter that a formal Court of Inquiry headed by a serving lieutenant general had been ordered to probe the matter in detail.
Durrani, who served as the ISI chief from August 1990 to March 1992, stirred controversy over remarks made in the co-authored book, The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace.
Commenting on the selection of Justice (retd) Nasirul Mulk’s name as the country’s caretaker prime minister, he said, “He [the former justice] has an exemplary personality. Everyone should laud the decision of appointing him as the caretaker PM.”
Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah had announced that Justice (retd) Mulk would take reigns as the caretaker premier, while addressing a joint press conference with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and National Assembly speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on Monday.
Nawaz further shared that lives of politicians had been put in danger after taking security away from them. “If an accident occurs then who will be responsible for it,” he questioned.
Published in Daily Times, May 30th 2018.
