Clarion India

JAIPUR — Former Chief of the Indian spy agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) said on Sunday that India and Pakistan should resume talks to resolve a host of matters that trouble both sides, including terrorism and the Kashmir dispute. He also underscored the need to talk to China.

Speaking at a literature festival in Jaipur, the former Indian spy chief said  A.S. Dulat said there was no need to scrap Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, saying there was nothing left in it and it was only a “fig leaf”.

Mr Dulat was also of the view that “militancy” will continue to come down, but “terrorism will stay unless we sort it out with Pakistan” and batted for dialogue with Islamabad, say media reports.

“Pakistan has been an inherent part of Kashmir. Since 1947, what the government of India has been trying to do is to mainstream Kashmir and get Pakistan out of the Kashmiri minds. And I think we’ve succeeded to a very large extent.”

He was in conversation with senior journalist Mandira Nayar about his latest book A Life in the Shadows: A Memoir, published by HarperCollins India.

He said “I had argued that we didn’t have to do away with Article 370 because there was nothing left in it. It was only a fig leaf which had provided a Kashmiri a little bit of dignity.”

The Modi government abrogated Article 370 on Aug 5, 2019. It was, however, unfortunate that Delhi had always viewed the region in “black and white” and ignored its “greys”.

A.S. Dulat further said “militancy (freedom struggle in occupied Kashmir) will continue to come down, but terrorism will stay unless we sort it out with Pakistan and batted for dialogue with Islamabad.”