Kandhahar hijack: Ex-RAW chief’s revelations spark row

New Delhi, July 3

Former RAW Chief AS Dulat has admitted to the central government’s error in responding to the IC-814 hijack in 1999 when it failed to mobilise police into action when the plane had landed in Amritsar, allowing the hijackers to take the aircraft to Kandhahar, Afghanistan.

(Also read Militants’ release was a mistake: Farooq) 

In his book ‘Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years’, Dulat, a Special Advisor on Kashmir in Vajpayee's PMO after his retirement as Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) Chief in 2000, says the central government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee “goofed up” when they failed to give the police clear instructions to immobilise the aircraft when it landed at the airport on December 24, 1999, for refuelling, which helped the hijackers escape.

On Vajpayee's distrust of PDP

The book contains many shocking revelations besides: it said, for instance, that Vajpayee was against making Mufti Muhammad Sayeed the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir because of “grave doubts that his daughter Mehbooba Mufti had militant links.”

Dulat attributes the distrust to what he calls the kind of help Mufti got during the 2002 state Assembly elections, but elaborates no further.

Dulat narrates an episode during the then Prime Minister's visit to Srinagar in April 2003 when he first reached out to Pakistan.

"When Vajpayee went to Srinagar in April 2003 and famously extended his hand towards Pakistan, a stage was erected high up for the public meeting. Sitting up on the stage were Vajpayee and Mufti. Mehbooba wanted to join them, but she was politely told that there was no place for her on that stage. Vajpayee did not want her up there. He did not want her projected. There were grave doubts about Mehbooba in Delhi, about her links with the Hizbul Mujahideen and the help it provided her and her party during the 2002 elections," says the 75-year-old Dulat, an IPS officer of 1965 batch.

Mehbooba Mufti, who left for Philadelphia on Friday, morning, could not be contacted.,

He also makes some other revelations. For instance, while narrating his chat with Mufti after last year's Parliamentary elections in which PDP bagged all three seats from the Valley, Dulat said Mufti mentioned that Pakistan was getting to everybody in Kashmir.

"They are financing everybody...humein bhi contact kiya hai (We were also contacted)," he said.

The author goes on to say that Mufti had attained power with the help of pro-Pakistani separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

"Both of them are 'Pirs', who are groups of families from whom Kashmir gets its religious preachers, and that explains their proximity. The feeling among some Kashmiris, however, is that most 'Pirs' are frauds," he said.

Dulat also claimed that PDP was Geelani’s brainchild, but there have been differences of opinion between the two in recent years.

His book claims Mufti was in awe of National Conference (NC) patron Farooq Abdullah and even after the NC stalwart lost last year's Parliamentary elections, Mufti said: "Even if he has lost, Farooq Abdullah would remain Farooq Abdullah."

Recalling an interesting incident of 1995, Dulat said Mufti approached him through his emissary for a secret meeting.

"A meeting was fixed at my residence and Mufti saheb came sharp at 8.30 pm. Farooq took his time in coming. He did it purely for effect, and he did it deliberately because it was Mufti. They were meeting after a long time, and, of course, don't forget that Farooq had been forced out of his job at the start of 1990. He got a kick out of keeping Mufti waiting," he said.

"...are you sure Farooq is coming," was a question by Mufti as Abdullah had not turned even by 9 pm. After 15 minutes he arrived and both started talking.

Dulat blamed Congress leader Saif-ud-din Soz, who was an important leader of National Conference at that point, for the souring ties between Mufti and Abdullah.

On Gujarat riots

It also claims that Vajpayee had admitted that the government had committed a mistake in Gujarat, while referring to the 2002 Gujarat riots.

The revelations have triggered a massive row between the Congress and the ruling BJP: the Congress, on Friday, demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Gujarat riots. The BJP, on the other hand, wants the opposition party to apologise for “questioning his integrity".

"I think time as well as all that has happened has made that question completely irrelevant. Congress has used every method and every strata of the administration, as well as the courts and every court, including Supreme Court, has done 10 years or more of the most thorough investigation... and found nothing against the present honourable Prime Minister. In fact, Congress should apologise for raising questions about his integrity," said BJP national spokesperson MJ Akbar.

"Indeed, it occurs to me that if, on the riots under Congress, one-hundredth of the investigations had taken place against those who are responsible, a lot of VIPs would not be in their homes," charged Akbar.

The ruling party also dismissed Dulat's claims about the government’s errors in dealing the IC-814 hijacking case. Akbar claimed that Congress had a "very convenient memory" on Kandahar and that the decision to save the hijacked Indians was taken after consultations with everyone.

"It is regrettable, but perhaps their (Congress's) occasional amnesia, where it suits them. On Kandahar, consultations were held at the highest level by senior leaders of NDA. It was a national crisis. In the spirit of the Vajpayee government, consultations were held with all the parties," he said. PTI/ ANI/ IANS