The Author is Former Director General of Information Systems and A Special Forces Veteran, Indian Army

Farooq Abdullah
National Conference (NC) President

Farooq Abdullah, National Conference (NC) President told reporters on December 11, 2021 that there was no way out except holding talks with Pakistan to end terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). He was talking to media on the sidelines of a meeting of the NC, post the killing of two police personnel by terrorists in the Valley on December 10 in north Kashmir's Bandipora district in, which he termed a “sad story”. Two terrorists were also killed in the same terror attack.

How many times Farooq Abdullah has been ranting for talks with Pakistan, he would not remember himself. Same goes for Mehbooba Mufti whose father Mufti Mohammad Syed publicly thanked Pakistan as Chief Minister-elect when his party won the state elections in March 2015. In 1989 as Union Home Minister, Mufti Mohammad Syed’s daughter Rubaiya Sayeed was kidnapped by terrorists of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).

Rubaiya was eventually released after five JKLF terrorists (all in 20s), namely, Abdul Hamid Sheikh, Noor Mohammed Kalwal, Javed Mohammed Zargar, Mohammed Altas Butt (brother of Maqbool Butt) and Sher Mohammed Khan Azad (Pakistani national) were released from prison.

Mehbooba Mufti, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President has been repeatedly calling for talks with Pakistan on Kashmir. Her latest ploy is that if India could talk to the Taliban in Doha in Qatar, why doesn’t the Centre talk to Pakistan?

More significantly, it is during the tenure of Mufti Mohammad Syed as Union Home Minister that the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pundits and Hindus from the Valley took place. Incidentally, when these killings were happening, Farooq Abdullah was enjoying himself dancing in the bars of London. Years later Farooq Abdullah claimed that his government was threatened with dismissal by the Union Government if the terrorists were not exchanged for Rubaiya (sic). Setting free these rouges, set the stage for heightened terrorism in J&K and mass support for militancy orchestrated by politicians.

Mehbooba Mufti
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President

Mehbooba Mufti, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President has been repeatedly calling for talks with Pakistan on Kashmir. Her latest ploy is that if India could talk to the Taliban in Doha in Qatar, why doesn’t the Centre talk to Pakistan? Of course she would not mention that the Pakistani National Security Advisor (NSA) refused to attend the NSA-level multinational summit on Afghanistan hosted by India during November 2021 and that a Pakistani delegation did attend the cyber-security meet hosted by India earlier this month to enhance collaboration among member nations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) under the framework of Regional Anti Terrorist Structure (RATS).

Hurriyat’s hardliner separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani who died on September 1 this year was a stooge of Pakistan’s ISI; on their payroll and in communication with Pakistani government. He maintained a website that constantly spewed venom against India. That is why Pakistan’s Prime Minister tweeted on Geelani’s death: “Deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Kashmir freedom fighter Syed Ali Shah Geelani who struggled all his life ....He suffered incarceration and torture ....We in Pakistan salute his courageous struggle & remember his words -‘Hum Pakistani hain aur Pakistan Humara hai’. The Pakistan flag will fly half mast and we will observe a day of official mourning.”

If these politicians think they are Pakistanis, they and their families should have crossed over to Pakistan, along with the retreating Pakistani invaders, immediately post Independence

Pakistan’s foreign office issued a statement saying: “The government and people of Pakistan deeply mourned the passing away of the iconic leader of the Kashmir resistance. The nation pays rich tribute to his life-long struggle for justice and freedom. Geelani inspired three generations of resisting illegal Indian occupation and unabated tyranny. He was a true voice and hero of the Kashmiri’s struggle for self-determination, who never lost his ideological moorings for a single moment. May he continue to be an inspiration for those carrying his mission forward to bring an end to the illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.”

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq
Chairman of the Awami Action Committee

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Chairman of the Awami Action Committee (a key faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in J&K) has been visiting Pakistan where Pakistani military personnel are lined up to welcome him. He obviously has absolutely no compunctions in doing so despite the fact that his own father was killed by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists.

The ilk of Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other separatists know that talks with Pakistan to stop terrorism in J&K are useless because terrorism is the main forte of the Pakistani military and confrontation with India helps them retain their stranglehold over Pakistan. Moreover, what is there to discuss about Kashmir when Pakistan refuses to accept the formal accession of the original State of J&K to India and the only solution is for Pakistan to vacate Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK)?

India needs to take note that Saudi Arabia (considered the Home of Islam) has recently banned the Tablighi Jamaat, calling it 'One of The Gates of Terrorism' & 'Danger to Society'

If these politicians, who sold their souls to Pakistan, think they are Pakistanis (like Syed Ali Shah Geelani proclaimed), they and their families should have crossed over to Pakistan along with the retreating Pakistani invaders immediately post Independence. Even later, they could have renounced their Indian citizenship anytime and go to Pakistan for good. But they also know that in the latter case, their value to Pakistan would be lost and they will become nonentities.

But why these anti-India politicians continue to act in this manner is because of the following:

• They very well know that it is only in India that they can continue ranting in this manner. In any other country like Pakistan or China, they would have been killed and their families wiped out long time back.
• If hypothetically Pakistan ever gets hold of J&K, these very politicians would be hung from the nearest trees. But they are sanguine this can never ever happen.
• Talking in favour of Pakistan means continuing monetary benefits and even narcotics, also making them Beijing’s darlings.
• Terrorism is a multi-crore industry in J&K which means additional financial benefit as well as support for politicking. That is the reason they are also putting spokes in the de-limitation process while simultaneously calling for statehood.

India needs to take note that Saudi Arabia (considered the Home of Islam) has recently banned the Tablighi Jamaat, calling it 'One of The Gates of Terrorism' & 'Danger to Society'. The Saudi Government also directed the preachers in the mosques to allocate next Friday prayers to warn people against Tablighi Jamaat and the Da’wah group called Al Ahbab.

Chanakya had said, “If you make snake drink milk, you increase its venom, not nectar”. India would do well to review its security policies (both external and internal), which should include dealing with those who have sold their souls to Pakistan.