Pakistan's ministry of defence has urged a high court that it should not lift a ban on foreign travels of former spy master Lt Gen (retired) Asad Durrani, saying he has been in contact with anti-state elements from other countries since 2008, a media report said on Wednesday.
Durrani, who headed the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency from August 1990 till March 1993, had approached the Islamabad High Court last year, urging it to remove his name from the no fly list as he wanted to go abroad.
In a written response to a petition filed by 79-year-old Durrani, the Ministry of Defence urged the court not to remove his name from the no fly list, Geo News reported.
The ministry told the court that it has "evidence" which suggests that Durrani remained in contact with India's Research and Analysis Wing. It also claimed to have evidence which suggests that Durrani has been in contact with anti-state elements from other countries since 2008.
The court proceedings for the petition filed by the former ISI chief will commence from the second week of February, the channel said.
Durrani, who also served as director general of the Military Intelligence in 1988, ran into hot waters in 2018 by co-authoring a book titled ''The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace'' with former R&AW chief A S Dulat.
An inquiry was launched against Durrani and he was summoned to the Pakistan Army's General Headquarters in May 2018, where he was asked to explain his position on views attributed to him in the book.
The army said in 2019 that Durrani has been found guilty of violating the military code of conduct. His pension and other benefits were stopped.
Durrani's name was included in the no fly list in 2019 following the Ministry of Defence's recommendation.
He has said he will not comment since the matter is already in court, adding that it should be resolved through the judicial process.
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