When I met Salahuddin In Pakistan

BARKHA DUTT recalls her meeting with the Hizbul chief, whom the US has named a global terrorist. The distinction between foreign and homegrown terrorists in Kashmir is over

In July 2001, just days ahead of the Agra Summit between India and Pakistan, I interviewed Syed Salahuddin, the head of the Kashmiri terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen. We met in Rawalpindi, home to the headquarters of the Pakistan army, at a nondescript three bedroom bungalow where the Hizb ran an office as casually and confidently as if it were, let’s say, a travel agency. Except, men armed with automatic weapons guarded it and warned us not to train our cameras on their faces, though we were welcome to zoom our lens onto their guns.

Salahuddin, one of Kashmir’s most wanted militants, sat behind a small wooden table, and offered us chips and Coke, while holding forth on the upcoming meeting between Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Musharraf. As he alternated between English and Kashmiri, I asked him if the Hizb would put militant activities on hold at least during the talks, so as to not sabotage their outcome. He refused to make any commitment, turning his diatribe on L.K. Advani and his rath yatra. He was more circumspect, even respectful, about Vajpayee, saying he was counting on his “practical nature” to ensure that the talks were successful.

Outside, one of the gunmen chillingly boasted about a gun he had snatched from an army officer in Kashmir, which he had then gifted to “Pir sahib”, as Salahuddin was known to his acolytes. Considered a dreaded terrorist in India, he was almost like a state guest in Pakistan.