SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday took a sharp swipe at People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti for endorsing AS Dulat’s controversial new book The Chief Minister and the Spy, saying if she believes the book’s contents are true, she must also respond to what was written about her father, the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, in the former RAW chief’s earlier publication.
“If Mehbooba Ji considers everything written by Dulat Sahib to be true, then should we also consider what he wrote about her father in his first book to be true?” Omar told reporters. “If we accept it as the truth, then she should explain how she expects the people to believe it.”
Omar accused the ex-intelligence officer of distorting facts to generate publicity. “To sell his book, it is Dulat Sahib’s habit not to go with the truth,” he said. “In his first book, he did not spare anyone, and in this one, he left no stone unturned to humiliate Farooq Sahib.”
He added with a tinge of irony, “It is said that when you have friends like this, there is no need for enemies. Finally, Farooq Sahib has found out the truth about Dulat Sahib.”
The National Conference also issued a strongly worded joint statement condemning the former spymaster’s portrayal of party president Dr Farooq Abdullah in The Chief Minister and the Spy. Senior party leaders described the remarks as “detached from reality” and a “desperate attempt to gain cheap publicity”.
The signatories included General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar, Additional General Secretary Ajay Kumar Sadhotra, Nasir Aslam Wani, Shammi Oberoi, Tanvir Sadiq, Showkat Mir, Rattan Lal Gupta, MPs and senior leaders such as Sakina Itoo, Muhammad Shafi Uri, Sharief Ud Din Shariq, Khalid Najeeb Suharwardhy, and others.
They said Dr Farooq Abdullah is a “symbol of democratic resistance” and the force behind the formation of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), which emerged in response to the central government’s decisions on August 5, 2019. They also pointed to his political record, including the dismissal of his government in 1984 and repeated house arrests after 2019.
The NC leaders called Dulat’s claims “baseless” and questioned PDP’s stance, asking how the party could now accept Dulat’s statements when it had previously dismissed his allegations against Mufti Sayeed. “It is clear that Dulat’s motives are questionable,” they said.
The statement added, “Dr Farooq Abdullah has always stood up for the constitutional autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, often at great personal and political cost. The people of Kashmir know who truly defends their rights.”
