NEW DELHI: Former Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief AS Dulat on Tuesday strongly pitched for restoration of statehood to Jammu & Kashmir and favoured resumption of talks between India and Pakistan. Speaking at the 25th edition of the ‘Delhi Dialogue’ programme hosted by TNIE, Dulat said that the most pressing issue currently facing Jammu & Kashmir is the restoration of its statehood.“The restoration of statehood to J&K would not only help in improving the credibility of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, but also of Delhi. This will restore the dignity of people of Jammu & Kashmir,” he said.When asked if the statehood would be restored anytime soon, Dulat said, “You know, I was there for Omar’s swearing in Srinagar and on my return from there I thought it might happen. But, now I don’t see it happening, but only time will tell whether I am right or wrong.”On the issue of India resuming talks with Pakistan, the former spymaster quoted YD Gundevia, who served as the last Foreign Secretary of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, as he said, “…sands are running out. Time is on nobody’s side. We need to move on.”“I don’t know why, but we need to talk to Pakistan. Both Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, two main leaders in Kashmir, have repeatedly been saying we should talk to Pakistan and I believe that is the way forward,” Dulat said, adding that otherwise “terrorism is not going to go away.”When asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and whether his top advisers were making any efforts to engage Pakistan in dialogue, the ex-R&AW chief said, “I don’t know S Jaishankar, the External Affairs Minister, but I know National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, as we had been colleagues and also friends. I have great regards for Doval. So his thinking has to be the same as the Prime Minister’s thinking. They have to be on the same page. So obviously, if we are not talking to Pakistan, it has to be the NSA’s thinking and also the Prime Minister’s thinking.” Dulat went on to say, “I can’t see anybody around who can replace him (Ajit Doval).”Terming Pakistan as an important neighbor as China, Dulat said, it has been the right that terror and talks can’t go together, which the government of India has been saying for a long time. “The stand is justified, but I say, we will not talk about Kashmir. Let us talk about terror. Let’s talk about visas. Let’s talk about coming and going.”On the reasons as to why terrorists shifted their attack targets from the Kashmir Valley to the Jammu region, Dulat said, “The main reason is that the Kashmiris are tired and sick of guns and getting killed. So, even Pakistan realised why get Kashmris killed. It is better to get Hindus killed in Jammu. There is an area in Jammu region called Pir Panjal where time and time again, there have been attacks.”
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