July 22, 2015
News
Abdullah ‘confirms’ funding to Hurriyat, Hizb by RAW
Ex-CM calls autonomy a road not move forward in solving Kashmir issue
NEW DELHI – Dr Farooq Abdullah – a former chief minister of Indian-held Jammu Kashmir and senior leader of the National Conference party – has supported recent statements of former chief of India’s intelligence service AS Dulat that the Indian spy agencies have often bankrolled the expenses of Hurriyat leaders and ‘militants’ as well as other political parties.“India did this (financial support) to convey a message that ‘we are here to help and not here to kill,’” he said this while speaking at the release of a book – Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years – written by former RAW chief AS Dulat. Dr Abdullah also said that he helped the son of Syed Salahuddin – the chief of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit – get a placement in the state's medical college.
Both Hurriyat and the Hizbul Mujahideen already rejected contentions by former RAW chief regarding them, insisting that they have no basis. “We out-rightly reject Dulat’s contention,” Hurriyat said in a statement. Hizb spokesperson Saleem Hashmi said in a statement that Salahuddin had no contact with any intelligence agency and his son got a seat on the basis of merit.
– Radicalization of youth –
During his address, Dr Abdullah pointed out that trust deficit with India was resulting in ‘radicalisation’ of the youth in the disputed state and that the trend needs to be stopped, failing which it may lead to problems bigger than what was seen in early 1990s. “As I have always said that don’t mistrust us, don’t push us to the wall, we will die as Indians,” he said.
Asked whether autonomy was a way to move forward in solving the Kashmir issue, he said at least this was a road. “Where we reach is up to the discussions that we will have,” he said. Abdullah spoke about growing fundamentalism in almost all religions.
“India is in tremendous danger and the fallouts are going to be miserable if we don't wake up against the fundamentalism that is going to be death for those of us who believe that we are a nation,” he said.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk