The national security advisor of Pakistan Mahmud Ali Durrani was sacked by PM Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday (January 7). According to reports, the security adviser was fired because he first disclosed that Mumbai attacker Ajmal Kasab is a Pakistani national. According to statement released from Gilani's office, Durrani has been irresponsible with his behavior for not taking the prime minister and other stakeholders into confidence regarding Mumbai terror attacks.

 

Durrani was appointed to the key position after the Pakistan People's Party took power in early 2008. Durrani called on his own nemesis by making comments to the media regarding the lone surviving Mumbai attacker, Mohammed Ajmal Amir Iman also known as Mohammed Ajmal Kasab. India has been repeatedly claiming that Kasab is a Pakistani citizen but Islamabad refused to confirm it, saying he did not appear in the national citizen database.

 

Apart from Durrani, Pakistan's foreign ministry and Information Minister Sherry Rehman also confirmed that Kasab hails from Pakistan. Meanwhile, Indian PM Manmohan Singh said that some of the Pakistani officials had backed up the Mumbai terror attacks which killed over 170 people. The pattern of plan-execution of the Mumbai attackers clearly suggests that they were connected with the top agencies of Pakistan.

 

India claimed that all the 10 terrorists came from Pakistan and accused the banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba for the carnage. The sacking of Durrani came at a period when there is high tension between India and Pakistan. Apart from it, US President-elect Barack Obama is also preparing to take office.