[Reader-list] Pak NSA Mahmud Ali Durrani sacked

[Aditya Raj Kaul]

Pak NSA Mahmud Ali Durrani sacked
7 Jan 2009, 2312 hrs IST, PTI

 ISLAMABAD: In a bizarre drama, Pakistan's National Security Adviser Maj
Gen(retd) Mahmud Ali Durrani was sacked on Wednesday night for having
 indicated days ago that Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone Pakistani terrorist
arrested for the Mumbai terror attacks, may have been a Pakistani, a fact
ironically confirmed by the government earlier in the day.

A brief statement issued by the Prime
Minister's<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Pak_NSA_Mahmud_Ali_Durrani_sacked/articleshow/3948826.cms#>House
said Yousuf Raza Gilani had sacked Durrani "for his irresponsible
behaviour (of) not taking Prime Minister and other stakeholders into
confidence and lack of coordination on matters of national security".

Gilani was quoted by Geo News channel as saying that he had sacked Durrani
for commenting on the issue of the nationality of Iman alias Ajmal Kasab
without taking him (Gilani) or the government into confidence.

The premier told the channel that Durrani's "irresponsible" comments had
affected Pakistan's image and went against the government's policies.

The move came soon after Information Minister Sherry Rehman and Foreign
Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq both told reporters that an investigation by
Pakistani security agencies had confirmed that Kasab was a Pakistani
national.

Rehman also said Pakistan's investigation into the Mumbai attacks was
continuing. Some reports suggested that Durrani's sacking would have to be
endorsed by President Asif Ali Zardari.