A credulous claim

Sir, - I was amused at reading Mr. Inder Malhotra's article, ``Most mortifying outrage'' (TheHindu, Dec. 29), since I happened to be the then Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir and sole negotiator authorised by the State Government to obtain the release of Dr. Rubaiyya Sayeed, daughter of the then Union Home Minister, in exchange for five militants. He claims ``the truth is that Kashmir's Chief Secretary of that time had ordered the militants' release off his own bat''.

I do not know where he obtained this ``truth'' from. If Mr. Malhotra believes that the Chief Secretary of an extremely sensitive State could release five militants in exchange for the Minister's daughter ``off his own bat'', he is either incredibly naive or extremely credulous - both qualities least expected of a veteran journalist. I expected a journalist of Mr. Malhotra's standing and experience to show a much better understanding and knowledge of the workings of the Government of India and the State Governments than what he has displayed in his article.

The five militants headed by Abdul Hamid Sheikh were released on the express orders of the then Prime Minister, Mr. V. P. Singh, conveyed to the State Government through the then Cabinet Secretary, Mr. T. N. Seshan, in the early hours of December 13, 1989 from the chambers of the Prime Minister himself. The orders were personally endorsed by Mr. I. K. Gujral and Mr. Arif Mohammed Khan, both Cabinet Ministers in Mr. Singh's Government, who flew to Srinagar aboard a special flight the same morning.

Contrary to Mr. Malhotra's assertion that eight Governments have come and gone and that none has told the country the truth, these facts were mentioned in newspapers several times in 1990. Moreover, as late as December 31, 1999, Mr. V. P. Singh himself gave the lie to Mr. Malhotra's assertion while appearing in a programme on the BBC with Mr. Prannoy Roy. He said the militants were released by his Government on his directive and that he owned total moral responsibility for it.

I would advise Mr. Malhotra that he, as a veteran journalist, check his facts before revealing such ``truths'', especially about events of which he has no personal knowledge.

Moosa Raza,

(Former Chief Secretary, J&K)

New Delhi

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