Hurriyat Conference says former RAW chief AS Dulat's book full of lies

Former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief AS Dulat has created a political storm in Kashmir with his recent revelations. The hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference has rejected Dulat's claim of Syed Ali Shah Geelani helping Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to form PDP, saying though the R&AW chief tried to meet Geelani, he failed miserably.

"Now he is giving vent to his anger by imagining things about Geelani sahab," Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar said. Dulat has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was the brainchild of Mufti Muhammad Sayeed and Syed Ali Geelani, alleging that PDP attained power in the state with the help of pro-Pakistan Geelani. In his book 'Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years' Dulat claims former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee didn't want Mehbooba to gain prominence due to her perceived links with the Hizbul Mujahideen, and the help it provided her and her party during the 2002 elections.

Hurriyat Conference said PDP was not the creation of Geelani but it's the Indian secret agencies that created it. "Hurriyat has got this information from reliable sources that the decision regarding creation of PDP was taken at a residence of a top Intelligence Bureau officer," the Hurriyat said. "Former spy chief 's book is based on absolute lies. By doing this he has actually once again tried to utilise his professional skills to create confusion, untrustworthy and chaos," the Hurriyat spokesman said.

"Mufti Sayeed has been an Indian by conviction from very first day of his political career and as compared to other pro-Indian politicians he proved to be more dangerous for collective national interests of the Kashmiris. So there is no question of any soft corner for him or his party in the Hurriyat," he added. Since 2002, Hurriyat spokesman said, they have regularly pointed out that PDP was the creation of Indian spy agencies.

"PDP's creation was a conspiracy against the freedom movement of Kashmir. The green flag of PDP and ink pot and pen as election symbol was also an idea of policy-makers of India and its purpose was to confuse people," he added. BJP calls for investigation against separatists meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party hasn't rejected Dulat's claims.

"Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed should order a probe to ascertain militant links of mainstream politicians and re-investigate cases registered against the separatists," BJP spokesman Khalid Jehangir said. "The chief minister should ask the investigating agencies to look into the past of the politicians and ascertain whether they still have militant links or not. There are reports that separatists have been seeking favours from the mainstream politicians and they have been obliged on many occasions. BJP believes that this practice should be done away with and people at the helm should concentrate on addressing the issues concerning the masses," Jehangir added.