'It's only India, interested in restoring normalcy at J&K', NSA Doval remains convinced over Kashmiris support to abrogation of Art 370

New Delhi, September 07: National Security Adviser Ajit Doval said on Saturday he is fully convinced that a majority of Kashmiris support the abrogation of Article 370, and affirmed that restrictions in Kashmir are aimed at preventing Pakistan from creating more mischief through proxies and terrorists.

 

"Article 370 was not a special status. It was a special discrimination. With its abrogation we have brought Kashmiris on par with Indians," he said adding that the restrictions had anyway been eased progressively, and only 10 of the 199 police districts in Kashmir, Jammu and Laddakh now still had prohibitory orders, while land-line telephones have been restored fully in all three areas.

 

 

On the political detentions, he said they are preventive in nature and very much allowed under the law, which means the government is answerable to courts and will have to pay a heavy penalty if it has done anything extra-judicial.

 

"If anybody is interested in restoring normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir it is India," he said. "We will not allow people to become victims of Pakistan's machinations and its bullets sent across the border. We will do everything in power to protect the people," he said.

 

"There were many laws for modern and upcoming societies which were denied to people of J&K, right to education, right to property were denied, 106 such laws were taking protection of article 370 before August 5. It was not special status, it was special discrimination", he said.

 

Doval further also said that Pakistan used article 370 to catalyze terrorism in Kashmir and launched operation Topaz in 1988 through which they wanted to exploit political space. Modus operandi of operation Topaz was to use same tactics which Pakistani non-state actors used in Afghanistan.

 

Reflecting the government thinking, Doval said Article 370 was nothing but a millstone around the necks of Kashmir, and was preventing the people there from having equal rights that other Indians had. "Article 370 was only a tool of the political class to make money through corruption", he said, "For the common man there was nothing".