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| Angry Farooq Abdullah takes up Dar's case | | Spotlights on captured Kashmiri model | |
B L KAK
NEW DELHI, NOV 14
At a time when the Jammu and Kashmir government has washed its hands off the arrested Kashmiri model, Tariq Ahmed Dar, the National Conference patron and former Chief Minister, Farooq Abdullah, has strongly defended him, saying that "there is nothing against him and he is not a terrorist". Dar's career came to an abrupt end on September 16 in Bangladesh, when he was arrested on the suspicion that he was an agent of India's intelligence agency, RAW.
Deported to India after languishing in a Dhaka jail, Tariq Ahmed Dar did not really win his freedom. He landed in Delhi only to be arrated again, this time by the special cell of Delhi Police for his alleged links with the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). In less than two months, from being a face that dominated hoardings and commercials in Bangladesh, Tariq was accused of human trafficking, spying for India and a terror conduit acros two nations. The Delhi Sessions Court on November 13 rejected his bail plea.
Tariq's family and human rights activists feel that he is being targeted for being a Kashmiri Muslim. While the police say they have a strong case against him, his family claims he is being victimised for being a Kashmiri. Where does the truth lie in this fascinating story of a model turned terrorist? Are Kashmiris a victim of stereotype outside Kashmir? CNN-IBN's Editor-in-Chief, Rajdeep Sardesai, in his interaction with Farooq Abdullah, was told by the latter: "I know his (Tariq's) family and there is no reason why I should believe that Tariq is a terorist". Asked if he had tried to find out from the Delhi Police as to why Tariq was arrested, Farooq Abdullah was quoted as saying: "If Delhi Police had some concrete evidence, why didn't they come up with it in the court? Why are they asking for his detention? They are giving him third degree treatment, making him sign blanks sheets of paper, which they eventually will fill with stories that they want to lodge against him, just to prove that he is a terrorist".
Rajdeep Sardesai confronted Farooq Abdullah with yet another question: "Are you saying that he is being targeted because there is mindset that anybody who is a Kashmiri could be linked to terrorism?"Farooq Abdullah's reported anwer: "Yes, tomorrow they will probably arrest Farooq Abdullah for being a terrorist. I have no faith left in the law and order system of our country after looking at the manner in which they are treating Kashmiris. We face such terrible treatment in the rest of the country. If you ask for an accommodation as a Kashmiri, you might end up being arrested on some charges".
AS Dullat, former chief of the RAW (Research and Analysis Wing), was asked by CNN-IBN's Editor-in-Chief, if there is a mindset about Kashmir Muslims. In his reply, Dullat said: "I have the highest regard for Farooq Abdullah. But for some strange reason he has been sounding very angry lately. Coming to main question about the big stereotype about Kashmiri Muslims, I don't think that such a mindset exists in Delhi any longer. In the early 1990's when militancy first began, there was a lot of suspicion and skepticism about Kashmiris. But now there are a lot of Kashmiris living in Delhi and I don't think that such a perception exists any longer".
A pointed question addressed to AS Dullat: Is it not true that after every bomb blast or grenade blast that shook Delhi, the suspicion and mistrust regarding Kashmiri Muslims grew intense. An average Kashmiri youth looking for an accommodation in Pune, Chennai or Mumbai suffers because Indians don't see Kashmiris as the kind of people they can trust. Clearly there is a problem, isn't there? Dullat's reported reply: "Like I said, in the early 1990's it was difficult for a Kashmiris to look for a place to live. But now I don't see that there is a problem, at least not in Delhi. But yes in the other cities where people are not so familiar with Kashmiris, there are problems that these people face. Kashmiris are looked at in suspicion".
Equally thought-provoking question for Farooq Abdullah: Isn't there a possibility that Tariq Ahmed Dar may have been brought into some kind of a network by the local Kashmir terrorists whether willingly or otherwise? Don't you think that before you or some human right activists jump to a conclusion, the police must be allowed to present the case before the courts of this country? Farooq Abdullah's reply ran thus: "I don't mind police looking into the case. But they can't present their case by using third degree methods. They can't present their case by beating the hell out of a man and making him sign a blank paper. It is not the way of doing things".
Responding to another question: Farooq Abdullah was quoted as aserting: "None of us will defend him (Tariq) if he is a terrorist. We are fully aware that he is not a terrorist. Why can't the police go ahead and put their evidences in front of the judges in the court of law? Why are they waiting for this long? Why they have not presented any evidence before the judges as yet?" Is it possible that a person labeled a RAW agent in Bangladesh, found a Lashkar terrorist in India, is actually just a common man who earns his living by doing modeling in Bangladesh? Could the police have got it wrong?
In his reply, A S Dullat maintained: "They could have got it wrong. Who knows? These things are not foolproof and it could be a case of mistaken identity. I also would acknowledge with regards to Kashmiris that there are many grey areas. Things may not necessarily be seen in black and white". What is it that Farooq Abdullah wants now in the Tariq Dar case? Pat came the reply from the Kashmiri leader: "I want Mr Dullat to know that I'm not an angry man. I just want to fight for justice. All that I'm asking for this boy is justice. I don't want him to be killed. Please for God's sake give him justice. That is all that I want". |
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