R&AW former chief tried to gauge Farooq’s mood on new J&K order
NEW DELHI: The Indian spy agency’s former chief, AS Dulat, flew to Srinagar in early February on a hush-hush mission for the government — a quiet, top secret meeting with detained National Conference (NC) leader and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah, multiple senior officials said on condition of anonymity.
The brief for Dulat’s secret mission was simple: to suss out Abdullah’s mood in “accepting the new reality of Jammu & Kashmir
after the nullification of Article 370”, according to one of the officials.
The government effectively revoked the state’s special status on August 5 last year and detained several leaders including Farooq, his son Omar Abdullah, and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally Mehbooba Mufti of the Peoples Democratic Party.
“Mr Dulat had been wanting to meet the former chief minister for several months,” a member of the family said, adding on condition of anonymity that the former Research & Analysis Wing chief was finally given the go-ahead earlier this month.
When contacted, Dulat said: “No comments. If the officials and family have told you so, I have nothing more to say.”
Abdullah was detained and placed under house arrest soon after Article 370 was nullified. Since mid-september, the 82-year-old leader has been held under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA). Subsequently, his son Omar and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti too were detained under the same law, which allows for detention without trial for a period of two years.
A second official familiar with what transpired in the meeting between Dulat and Abdullah said, “Farooq Abdullah was furious and refused to yield any ground.”