Srinagar, September 7: Amarjit Singh Dulat, former head of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), has stated that if the alliance between Congress and the National Conference (NC) remains intact, Jammu will support it. However, if the alliance fails, the BJP will gain an advantage, potentially leading to the election of the first Hindu Chief Minister in Jammu and Kashmir.
Dulat shared his views in an article titled “Den of Intrigue: India’s border with Pakistan chooses a new chief minister,” published by the Russian media house RT on Saturday. He noted, “The central government claims that there is ‘normalcy’ in Kashmir, but it is an ‘abnormal normalcy.’”
Dulat, who served as Joint Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) from 1988 to 1990 and later as the head of RAW in 1999, highlighted that Kashmir is heading towards a historic election. “But the direction it is heading towards remains uncertain. The situation is becoming increasingly complex and fragile day by day,” he wrote.
He commented that New Delhi’s tough policy has initially shown results, but the echo of a volcano always lingers. “Silence in Kashmir is more ominous. It is not easy to silence the past, and it will continue to haunt us. Referring to the lines of famous Kashmiri-American poet Agha Shahid Ali, Dulat wrote that ‘destruction cannot bring peace.’”
The regional police chief recently mentioned that there are approximately 100 foreign terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir—50 in the valley and 50 in Jammu. Dulat suggested that this figure might be double and noted that recent attacks indicate that the Pakistani army’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has understood India’s counter-terrorism deployment and strategy, while our ‘human intelligence’ is drying up. The rise in terrorism is a clear sign of increased Pakistani support.
Dulat stated, “The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), an alliance of separatist Kashmiri organizations, was Pakistani in origin, but our interactions with it allowed us to receive information from the Line of Control. Separatists are now silent, but intelligence information is also silent.”
Regarding Engineer Rashid, the imprisoned MP from Northern Kashmir, Dulat remarked, “Currently, Engineer Rashid, elected to Parliament from North Kashmir, is of more value to Pakistan. If he is allowed to come out on parole, he would be less useful than staying in jail.”
Dulat also commented on JKNC leader Dr. Farooq Abdullah, noting that no one could plan elections better in Kashmir than him. He concluded his article with a note on the JKNC-Congress alliance: “If the Congress-NC alliance remains intact, Jammu will support it; if it fails, the BJP will be in a stronger position, and the possibility of a Hindu Chief Minister in Jammu and Kashmir for the first time will increase.”
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