War not an option and it's the right time to restore statehood to J&K: A.S. Dulat
Amarjit Singh Dulat, former chief of India's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), and an expert on the Kashmir question, speaking to The Hindu in Bengaluru in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, said, despite jingoistic calls, war was not an option. 'I have always maintained war is not an option. Let us hope there is no war. Even if it comes to that, it is not just the last option but the last bad option. Neither country can afford a war,' he said.
Asked about other offensive options before the Government of India to create a deterrence against such attacks on Pakistan, he said while that was for the government to decide, deterrence could be built 'by increasing security, and ensuring the local Kashmiri is happy and is on our side'. 'I agree with the Prime Minister when he says the perpetrators of this attack should be found and punished. So let us find them,' he said.
On restoring statehood
Mr. Dulat stressed on the importance of taking the Kashmiris along and expressed concern about some actions by the Union government in the region in the aftermath of the terror attack.
'For the time being, everybody in Kashmir is one and all the Kashmiri leaders have said they are with Delhi. This is a rare opportunity that should not be squandered away. The local Kashmiri should not suffer for whatever has happened. But slowly, there is a concern developing. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have also made statements that locals should not be targeted. The demolition of houses in this fashion is a concern to me as well,' he said.
He suggested that, as a confidence-building measure, this was a good time to restore the statehood for Jammu and Kashmir.
'Whatever the Government of India does, it should take the local Kashmiri along. In this context, it is not a bad time to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. The elected government in J&K should be supported and given credibility,' he argued.
'Tourism is not normalcy'
When quizzed about the narrative that claimed that a large number of tourists going to Kashmir as proof of 'Naya Kashmir', where violence had come down, Mr. Dulat said, 'Clearly terror has not gone away and tourism is not normalcy in Kashmir.'
'Violence had indeed come down. But it comes down and spikes again. Our armed forces have come under increasing attacks in the thickly forested Poonch Rajouri region for the past few years. In the last year, there have been more attacks in Jammu. Recently, there were a few attacks in Kathua, and it came up close to Udhampur. That's where you start climbing to the [Kashmir] Valley, and [it] is the route to Pahalgam. Obviously, these terrorists seem to have created some bases in this belt; it is not as if they are coming and going every day. So, if you see this pattern, terror has not gone away,' he said.
Making a passionate argument for restoration of statehood to J&K, he said, in fact, a short period of peace in the [Kashmir] Valley was after the recent Assembly election in which the National Conference swept the polls. 'The common Kashmiri felt finally there was a government of his (the voter's) in power. He slowly realised that it's only a half government. This needs to be corrected,' he said.
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