Former head of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) A.S. Dulat’s revelation in his new book that National Conference president Farooq Abdullah privately backed Article 370 abrogation by centre has triggered a political storm in Jammu and Kashmir with the opposition parties slamming the three-time former ex-Chief Minister for his betrayal with people.
Dulat, who enjoys very close relations with Farooq Abdullah, quotes the NC leader in the book 'The Chief Minister and the Spy' as saying, “We would have helped (pass the proposal). Why were we not taken into confidence?”
Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was revoked by the centre on August 5, 2019. Hours before its abrogation, Farooq Abdullah and other top mainstream leaders were put under house arrest in the Valley and the detention continued for several months.
Few days before the abrogation of Article 370, Abdullah, his son Omar Abdullah and the then party MP Justice (Retd) Hasnain Masoodi had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The book, according to its excerpts published by The Hindustan Times newspaper, mentions that meeting too. "What transpired...nobody will ever know," the former spy chief writes.
The report and the claim made by Dulat evoked sharp reactions from the NC's political opponents, who alleged "betrayal" by Farooq Abdullah.
Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference chairman Sajad Lone said he was not surprised by the disclosure.
Taking to social media, Lone described Dulat as the “closest ally” and “virtually the alter ego” of Farooq Abdullah, thereby lending significant weight to the former spymaster’s assertion.
“Coming from Dulat sahib makes this revelation very credible,” Lone wrote on X.
He suggested that the National Conference would predictably dismiss the revelation, terming it “yet another conspiracy” and accused the party of consistently playing the “victim card.”
The PC Chief went further to suggest that the National Conference may have been rewarded in the 2024 electoral cycle for its cooperation in 2019.
“…I can visualise Farooq sahib saying — Humey roney deejiye— Aap apna kaam karein— hum aap kay Saath hain—- It now seems 2024 was a prize for services rendered in 2019. Of course in national interest,” he wrote.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti said it is clear that Farooq Abdullah chose to stay in Kashmir instead of the Parliament to “help normalise gutting of J&Ks constitution & subsequent betrayal.”
Iltija, who is the daughter of PDP supremo and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, posted on X: “Dulat sahab an ardent Abdullah supporter has shared how Farooq sahab agreed with Delhi’s illegal move of abrogating Article 370. There were already doubts about what transpired between the Abdullahs & PM days before J&Ks special status was revoked.
“With this it’s clear that Farooq sahab chose to stay in Kashmir instead of the Parliament to help normalise gutting of J&Ks constitution & subsequent betrayal” she said.
Another PDP leader and MLA Wahed Parra accused the NC of staging outrage and fiery rhetoric while quietly facilitating the disempowerment of Jammu and Kashmir.
“This is the same NC that watched silently for decades as Article 370 was gradually hollowed out - posing as protectors while doing nothing to actually protect. Their legacy is not one of resistance but of convenient silence dressed up as statesmanship,” he said.
“This well-rehearsed charade has only one purpose: to normalise the abrogation of 370 and 35A, and the climate of fear and intimidation unleashed post-August 5, 2019 - under the convenient label of a ‘popular government’.”
The Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) Chief Spokesperson Inam Un Nabi held the National Conference responsible for betraying the people of J&K.
“The people of Jammu and Kashmir were stabbed in the back not by strangers, but by those who claimed to be their guardians. Farooq Abdullah’s private endorsement of the abrogation of Article 370 — as exposed in A S Dulat’s book — confirms what the people have long suspected: National Conference was never a victim, but a silent collaborator,” he said.
Drawing a stark comparison, Inam highlighted the hypocrisy and self-interest of NC leadership while praising the unflinching stand of jailed MP Engineer Rashid.
“While the Abdullahs danced behind closed doors in BJP’s corridors of power, Engineer Rashid was languishing in prison for speaking truth to power and refusing to barter his conscience for political crumbs. It is an irony of our times that traitors roam free and the people’s hero remains behind bars,” he said.
Inam went on to call out the legacy of deception practiced by NC.
“From backchannel deals to sham opposition, the National Conference has perfected the art of deception. They masquerade as the defenders of Kashmir in public, while privately negotiating their political survival at the cost of our collective dignity,” he said.
The AIP leade termed the Dulat revelations not just as a political scandal but a complete moral breakdown of NC politics in Jammu and Kashmir.