Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 23: Former Union minister and former Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz has described the recently released book of former RAW chief Mr Dulat as a story of half -truth.
“I saw Dulat’s book, `Kashmir – The Vajpayee Years’ which is essentially a thesis on why and how the Centre can trust Dr Farooq Abdullah. This is something expected of Dulat as he has enjoyed his friendship with Dr Abdullah for a life time. But, in other areas, Dulat could afford to be on the right path. Wherever, he (Dulat) referred to me in his book, he indulged in telling deliberately half truths or reporting things without caring to know the facts authentically”, Soz maintained.
Prof Soz further said, “As for my vote against the confidence motion tabled by Vajpayee Govt. in the Lok Sabha in April, 1999, his negative assessment of my voting against my own party speaks of his shallowness. It is also an example of being more loyal than the king as Dr Farooq Abdullah himself told newspapers and TV Channels, on numerous occasions, that Soz had done the correct thing as the BJP is really a communal party, but he (Dr Farooq) adopted other course keeping the party interest in view. The people of the country, however, know what could be the motivation for Dr Farooq Abdullah while supporting the BJP. Then, Dulat quite wrongly brought in late Pilot’s name in the discussion and it shows that people serving the agencies, do not feel the necessity of checking their facts and do not necessarily have access to real actors in the political arena,” Soz added.
” Coming to his description of the prominent businessman’s release on my recommendation, I would like to refresh his memory that the meeting in this connection took place at my residence at C-1/7, Humayun Road, New Delhi and, among other things, I had suggested that the agencies indulge in arresting people in Kashmir for no valid reasons and that if the Centre wanted to move forward in the dialogue process, it could happen through such people (including the businessman under discussion) as this category of people had better resources to lend support to the dialogue process.
There is a vital mistake in the narration of the episode relating to Shabir Shah. How could I look straight into Mr Dulat’s eyes when he wanted my positive comments for Shabir Shah as leader in the future dispensation in Kashmir. I had told him (Dulat) that while Shabir Shah happened to be a very good person, why and how could Delhi’s agencies install persons of their choice at the helm in Kashmir ? I had plainly told him (Dulat) that Kashmir’s proper integration with the Union of India could never materialize, in the real sense of the term, in the absence of a vibrant democracy on ground with a system of guarantees for internal autonomy acceptable to Kashmir”.
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