Ajit Doval Cautions Pak's Solidarity with Kashmir as Fake, Says its Only Interest is to Foment Unrest

New Delhi: Pakistan's hypocrisy in staking claim over Kashmir and showing solidarity with Kashmiris stands exposed by the fact that it never objected to the inclusion of Jammu & Kashmir in the Union of India in the newly-independent nation's Constitution in 1950, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval said on Saturday.

It was only in 1981 that Pakistan devised a strategy called Operation Topac to use Article 370 as a pretext to create unrest in Kashmir along the lines of the covert help it provided to Afghan Mujahideen by giving them arms, refuge and moral support, Doval told a group of journalists.

He said Pakistan co-opted small Kashmiri separatist groups and fomented unrest by arousing fear and suspicion about India, which later took on a religious colour. As a result, "they have created an army of terrorists in their own land" and the ensuing separatist violence has claimed more than 42,000 lives in Kashmir, he said.

"All this, just to say that they have not given up the cause of Kashmiris. They want public demonstrations on the streets; they want to create a world opinion that what is happening in Kashmir is genocide. They would be very happy if there is genocide on the streets. Unfortunately for them, nothing of that sort has happened, not one bullet has been fired," he said.

Article 1 in the Constitution states that "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States. The territory of India shall consist of: The territories of the states, The Union territories and Any territory that may be acquired." The Article then goes on to list the states, which include Jammu & Kashmir.

"They never raised any objection in 1950. Why is it happening today? Pakistan's efforts at creating turmoil in J&K shows desperation as they have lost face in front of those whom they sold false dreams," he said.

"Pakistan's Op Topac used Article 370 as basis to create separatist mindset and State support for terrorism. This basis stands demolished," he said.

He said the accession of Jammu & Kashmir predates the inclusion of Article 370 in the Constitution, and the Article itself has been amended several times in the past, and was never part of any bilateral or multilateral agreement. So Pakistan has no moral stand to object to the abrogation on August 5 of Article 370, which gave Kashmiris special status in the Union of India.

The government says the Article was temporary in nature, and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party had always said in its poll manifestos that it will have it annulled.

"What India did was an internal affair of India," Doval said.