'Durrani's book is not a conspiracy but mere foolishness'

Removed Durrani as ambassador to Saudi Arabia due to his poor performance, says Musharraf

Former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf has said that ‘Spy Chronicles’ – the book co-authored by former spymaster Lt Gen (retd) Asad Durrani was not a conspiracy but sheer foolishness.

Durrani’s name has been put on the no-fly list and a board of inquiry is investigating his claims. When asked about the fate of Durrani, Musharraf said, “Let the army decide”.



“I was surprised when I found out that a former DG ISI and a retired chief have authored a book together,” said Musharraf while speaking in an Express News talk show. “How can two persons with different views co-author a book.”

Musharraf claimed that he had sacked Durrani as Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia due to his poor performance.

Referring to the Kargil operation of 1998, Musharraf claimed that Durrani has criticised the operation in his book because “I was able to pull it off with a reasonable success”.

“He was senior to me and believed that I should have learnt from him, but I [successfully] conducted the operation”, Musharraf said. “An army official should be ashamed of himself for badmouthing the operation.”



While defending the Lal Masjid operation, Musharraf said Lt Gen (retd) Tariq Majid was the in-charge – and the Punjab and Islamabad police, the army and the rangers were reporting to him.

“One colonel lost his life in a bid to rescue the children [from Lala Masjid]. Thirteen SSG commandoes were also martyred,” he added.