30 December 2000

DULLAT APPOINTMENT CLIPS MISHRA'S WINGS

From Jal Khambata

NEW DELHI: With the appointment of superannuated RAW chief Amarjit Singh
Dullat as Officer on Special Duty in the Prime Minister's Office, Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has killed more than two birds with one stone.

At one go, he has clipped the wings of his Principal Secretary and National
Security Advisor Brijesh Mishra who has ruffled the feathers of many a
people who matter including Home Minister Lal Krishan Advani and his North
Block mandarins; pleased Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah,
who wanted Dullat to remain associated with the peace process; and partially
implemented Kargil panel's recommendation that national security needed more
attention than Mishra could afford to give due to his key assignment in the
PMO.

From his chamber in the PMO housed in South Block, Dullat, whose
contributions to the Kashmir peace process are widely recognized, will be
reviewing the IB and RAW reports concerning matters of national security.
These reports have acquired crucial significance in the Kashmir process at
this juncture as they would determine India's next policy steps on Kashmir.

For any forward movement, it is essential for New Delhi to know with
reasonable amount to certainty if Pakistan, more specifically its Chief
Executive Officer Parvez Musharraf , is going to reign in the Jehadi groups
which are making desperate attempts to sabotage the peace process. Secondly,
New Delhi needs to reassure itself that Musharraf  is continuing to call the
shots in Pakistan in the face of mounting pressure on him by the Jehadi
groups to stick to the hardline policy of Pakistan on Kashmir and India.

Besides, Dullat, because of the rapport he has developed with various
sections of the Kashmiri leadership, would be a great help once the Centre
initiates the formal dialogue with representatives of various shades of
opinion in Jammu and Kashmir. In any case, this process must keep moving
forward, because the Vajpayee administration is keen on persuing the bold
steps it has taken to restore peace in the border state. This was underlined
by highly-placed sources who stated: "The status quo does not help. It is
critical at this juncture that talks with all sections of Kashmiris in make
headway to end the feeling of suffocation of the people in the state."

The sources explained that "a way has to be found to get everyone to the
table and start the dialogue process. We have to build on the traumatised
people's overwhelmingly positive response to the Prime Minister's unilateral
announcement of ceasefire."

Sources admit the task on hand in working out the modalities for the talks
is in itself a complex exercise. What is of paramount importance is to
change the attitude of seeing every individual in the state with suspicion.
At the same time there are valid apprehensions on the part of the security
forces of things taking a turn for the worse with search, seizure and cordon
operations having come to a standstill till the ceasefire is in force.

"That chance has to be taken to give peace a chance despite the machinations
of Pakistan to put a spanner in the works as evidenced in July this year
with the Hizbul Mujahideen, a dominant Kashmiri militant outfit, declaring
ceasefire to set the stage for discussions with the Union Government. The
Vajpayee government had responded positively but it came to naught because
it did not fit into Islamabad's scheme of things.

Sources dealing with Kashmir are cautiously optimistic that Kashmiris will
adopt a realistic approach to Vajpayee's offer aimed at restoring peace and
calm in the state. It is generally perceived that in the prevailing scenario
Dullat can play the role of a catalyst in bringing various groups in Kashmir
to the negotiating table and prevail upon all sections that the BJP-led NDA
government means business.

An officer of the Rajasthan cadre, Dullat, has spent a lifetime in the sword
and dagger sleuthing game. He has been hands on in Jammu and Kashmir having
watched the developments first hand for nearly 15 years. Dullat's advent in
the PMO after bidding adieu to RAW in the Cabinet Secretariat on December 31
will be more than an extension of his earlier assignment.

Vikram Sood is the first officer of the Research and Analysis Service (RAS)
to succeed Mr Dullat. Mr Sood, who belongs to the Indian Postal Service, was
handpicked to serve RAW when the set-up was still in its infancy. Sood has
spent nearly three decades with RAW and has done stints abroad. He attains
the age of superannuation in March 2003 which allows him a stint of about 27
months as the umero uno of RAW. ENDS