IHC orders removal of Asad Durrani's name from ECL.

Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday ordered to remove the name of the former chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen (retd) Asad Durrani.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah issued the verdict after hearing all the sides in the case. According to the top judge, Durrani has the same rights as any other citizen of the country.

The former spy chief landed in trouble after co-authoring a book titled 'The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace' with India's former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief Amarjit Singh Dulat in 2018.

During the hearing, Justice Minallah told Additional Attorney General Tariq Khokhar, 'You had said that Durrani's name is in the ECL because of the ongoing inquiry against him.'

However, he added that according to the record, there is no ongoing inquiry against the ex ISI chief.

'The petitioner is a three-star retired general and served as the former DG ISI,' the court noted.

'He is now a commoner and enjoys all the rights that he is entitled to under the Constitution.'

The judge added that the federal government doesn't have the powers to put anyone's name in the ECL.

At this, Khokhar said that the representatives of the defence minister are here and they can issue a statement in this...