Srinagar: During former Prime Minister Vajpayee’s regime, A.S. Dulat was the adviser to the central government on Kashmir. He has also served as Director of Intelligence. He said in an interview about the situation in Kashmir:
There is no separatism in Kashmir now. It has become unwanted. Like Article 370, separatism has also disappeared. There should be negotiations with major political parties to return to normalcy.
Hariyat Conference Party leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has been under house arrest since 2019. He has a stake in Kashmiri politics. So he should be allowed out of house arrest soon to talk about the Kashmir issue. Only then can his position be known.
If an elected government comes to power in Kashmir soon, it will be good for the Centre. Negotiation is the only solution. If we don’t talk to separatists, we should negotiate with major political parties and hold elections. Only then can state rule be re-established there.
The present situation in Pakistan will have no impact on Kashmir. Those who were once in favor of Pakistan now say what is in Pakistan. But frequent incidents show that home-grown terrorism has not gone away in Jammu and Kashmir. We should take note of the worst incidents in Poonch-Rajori.
From time to time the youth of Kashmir are involved in terrorist activities. But Kashmiris want peace. No one wants a tense atmosphere there.
It was a big mistake that the Congress-led IMU coalition government did not allow PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to continue as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir in 2005. Mufti Mohammad Saeed became the Chief Minister in 2002. His 3 year reign was very good. It was the mistake of the Congress party to remove him. Events like this happen. That is politics. It is up to the party in power to decide on this.
It is not known whether anyone is behind the Kashmir talks. Because I am not aware of it since I left the central government long ago. Each government is dealing with the Kashmir issue in its own way.
I worked with former Prime Minister Vajpayee for five and a half years. Kashmiris still remember Vajpayee. His successor, Dr. Manmohan Singh, also did his best. When Prime Minister Modi came to power in 2014, the first person to welcome him was Hariyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. PM Modi also works in his style. Everyone is dealing with the Kashmir issue in their own way.
Pakistan cricket team coming to India to play World Cup cricket is a good development. Similarly, the Prime Minister of Pakistan should also attend the Shanghai Cooperation Summit. I think he will come. Pakistan hopes to improve relations with India. India should also act in favor of it. I hope Prime Minister Modi has realized this. India should negotiate with Pakistan as terrorism against India is decreasing.
Recently 5 foreign terrorists were killed near Kupwara. All the worst attacks come from the north. That’s the old way terrorists come. We need to talk to Pakistan to stop this. Taliban intervention in Kashmir militancy is unlikely. Since the Taliban want India to recognize Afghanistan, they will not interfere in the Kashmir issue.
Thus said Dulat.