STATE TIMES NEWS
Srinagar: Former spymaster A S Dulat has said the separatism in Kashmir was “dead” but felt there was a need to start a dialogue with mainstream political parties in the Valley.
Dulat, who was advisor on Jammu and Kashmir to the central government during the tenure of former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, also advocated the need for starting a dialogue with Pakistan.
“Separatism I believe is dead now. It has become redundant. Like Article 370, separatism also is gone,” Dulat told PTI in an interview here on Saturday.
He said Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who has been under house arrest since August 4, 2019, has a role in Kashmir politics.
“There is a leader who I feel has a role and that is Mirwaiz but he has been kept in his house. So, we will only know when he comes out.
He has been mainstream and whenever he is allowed to come out, I think it should be done as quickly as possible, then we will see which way he goes,” the former special director of Intelligence Bureau added.
Asked if the Kashmir issue has been resolved with the abrogation of Article 370, the former spy said,
“There was never a big issue and there will always be an issue. The sooner we have an elected government, the better, because it provides a buffer for Delhi.” “Dialogue, talking is the way out. If not to the separatists, talk to the mainstream, have elections and restore the statehood,” he added.
To a question if the situation in Pakistan had any effect in Kashmir, Dulat replied in negative, but said “radicalisation” among the youth was a worrying factor.
“I don’t think there is any impact here. Pakistan is in such a mess that even those who were once pro-Pakistan are now saying what is there in Pakistan? I don’t think Pakistan is a factor. What worries me is that radicalism seems to be growing. That’s not a good thing because Kashmir has always been open, liberal, Sufi, Shaivite. So that should be a matter of concern,” he said.
Dulat said terrorism has not gone away from Jammu and Kashmir as every now and then incidents take place.
