Former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief AS Dulat has stated that India’s inaction has contributed to the continued unrest in Kashmir and he wants the government to reach out to both sides of the conflict.
In an interview with DW, Dulat stressed that both Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti were at a total loss in dealing with the spiralling violence.
He said the government in New Delhi had managed Kashmir poorly. “There is a lot of anger on the streets and we need to pay attention to this. The current situation is worse than the earlier upheavals in 2008 or 2010 when there was also large-scale violence,” he added.
Daulat said this pent-up anger was waiting to explode and the killing of the separatist leader Burhan Wani proved the perfect trigger.
About Indo-Pakistan talks, the former RAW chief said, “We have to engage with Pakistan; there is no other option. We cannot forget Kashmir while engaging with Pakistan.”
