Ex-RAW chief Dulat calls for ‘warm handshake’ with Pakistan at Khushwant Singh LitFest

The 14th Khushwant Singh Literary Festival began in Himachal Pradesh’s Kasauli on Friday with a call for a “warm handshake” with Pakistan from former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief AS Dulat, who also cautioned against a Gen Z “turmoil” taking shape in the country.

Recollecting Khushwant Singh’s famous novel ‘Train to Pakistan’, Dulat underscored the necessity for a dialogue between India and Pakistan, and asserted that there should be a “warm handshake”, whether on the cricket field or the diplomatic table, between the two sides.

“India and Pakistan have had strained relations for quite some time. But whenever there was a rise in militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, cross-border dialogues helped minimise the threat,” Dulat said, recalling that even after the Kargil conflict in 1999, then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee invited General Pervez Musharraf for talks in Agra.

“Vajpayee was well aware that Musharraf was the chief of Pakistan Army and the mastermind of the Kargil intrusion, but he believed that cross-border talks must go on,” Dulat said.

On the recent tension between India and Pakistan on the cricket field, Dulat said the dignity of the game must be upheld.

“If you don’t want to play with Pakistan, don’t play. But if you are playing a match, handshakes should not be an issue”, he said.

Referring to Gen Z, Dulat said although it looks like a weak possibility at this stage, the recent uproar in Ladakh was a warning sign for the country.

The Khushwant Singh Literary Festival is being held from October 10-12 on the theme ‘The Voices of Tomorrow: Navigating the Future Through Words’.