In interview, Dulat talks of his secret meeting with Farooq last month; says Omar will be next CM
On February 9, he received a phone call from the home ministry saying he was free to go to Kashmir. Dulat says this phone call would only have happened with the knowledge and concurrence of Doval and this means the NSA was fully in the loop
Srinagar: Former R&AW chief A.S. Dulat, in an interview, has revealed his secret meeting with Farooq Abdullah during his detention that may have finally led to the NC’s president’s release from the over 7-month long detention.
Farooq, whose detention in August last year had created ripples in political circles and in the parliament, was released on Friday after authorities revoked his PSA.
In an interview with The Wire, Dulat revealed some interesting details of his “secret contacts” with former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah.
Dulat, in the interview, said he visited Srinagar on February 12 to meet Farooq and that the government had cleared the visit and, additionally, national security adviser Ajit Doval was fully aware of it.
Speaking to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Dulat claimed that Farooq “will respond if the Centre reaches out and that he has always done so.”
Talking about Omar Abdullah, Dulat said the present government was even more comfortable with Omar than with Farooq.
“With great confidence, Dulat said said Omar Abdullah would be the next chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, i.e. whenever the state elections are held,” The Wire interview read.
Dulat also talked about how his secret visit came to happen and the sort of clearance and support he got from the government in Delhi as well as the Intelligence Bureau in Srinagar.
Farooq was detained the day the Modi government announced the scrapping of Article 370 last August.
Dulat told The Wire that his involvement began when he spoke to Farooq on October 31 to enquire how he was.
“He asked if he could come and meet him and Abdullah said that depends on the authorities,” read The Wire interview.
As per it, Dulat then contacted a former colleague in the IB in Srinagar who said he would need to get clearance from Delhi.
Dulat then contacted sources in the home ministry in Delhi but they did not give him permission to meet Farooq Abdullah.
KM
