New Delhi is worried but why it isn’t surprised

Even by these standards,the sacking of Durrani is bizarre. He was removed for saying something which the Pak establishment adopted as its official line barely hours later.

Durrani,called “General Shanti” by a section of the Pak press for supporting peace overtures with India,was also an active member of the Balusa Group,an informal Track-II initiative for a peaceful settlement of all outstanding issues between India and Pakistan. His removal reinforces concerns in the Indian establishment that the Pak power structure is deeply fragmented.

This is exactly what India pointed to in its dossier. Consider the key examples cited:

• On November 28,Pak PMO and Foreign Office issued press releases that DG ISI would visit India. Same night,a spokesman for Prime Minister’s House said a “representative” would visit. Two days later,Pak President Asif Ali Zardari attributed the change in stance to “miscommunication”.

• On alleged air space violation by India and military buildup: On December 13,Gilani said it was a minor technical mistake. Information Minister Sherry Rehman said it was inadvertent. The next day,Zardari said it was a technical mistake. But on December 18,Pakistan conveyed its concern on technical and air space violations.

• On Masood Azhar’s status: On December 9,Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar said Azhar had been detained and that Pakistan “might allow” Indian investigators to question him. The next day,Gilani told reporters: “We are awaiting the latest reports about Masood Azhar”. On December 17,Pakistan High Commissioner said Islamabad had not detained Azhar and that he was not in Pakistan. The same day,Foreign Minister Quereshi said that Masood Azhar was “in custody”. At 10 pm the same day,Quereshi said that “Azhar is wanted by the government of Pakistan,but he is not in our custody and he is at large”.