The Government is misleading the nation in saying that the situation is turning normal in Kashmir. If it is so, why are they not able to recall all the Kashmiri pandits and others who had been forced to leave?

Militants have their supporters everywhere -- in political parties, state cabinet, bureaucracy and even the Police. I had once given an interview to a newspaper where I had said all this. Farooq Abdullah later had a four-hour meeting with me and asked for the names of militant sympathisers within the Government. I had just uttered one name and Farooq stopped me and himself gave ten names. But he requested me not to disclose these in the interests of the country and he promised to act. He never did.

What I was trying to do was to substantiate the things which even BJP leaders like Chamanlal Gupta (MP) and Kushabhao Thakre have been saying. I have no great political ambitions. All I want is to be able to sit with my family at the end of a peaceful day. This is my dream for all Kashmiris. I deliberately slowed my political activities since they were being perceived as a threat to Farooq Abdullah. I thought it was not proper to even give the slightest impression that we are interested in destabilising Farooq's government.

The assembly elections were held prematurely. I wish they had postponed the elections by one year. We would have finished the residual militancy by then. It (holding polls) was a deliberate plan thrust on the Government by some militant sympathisers within the bureaucracy to cut short the counter-insurgency wave. The result is that residual militancy has bloomed to dangerous levels.

It is rather challenging. Recently, 27 of my boys crossed over (to the militants). They simply could not bear the pressure -- the threat to their lives and the indifference of the Government. With a lot of difficulty, I managed to get them back. Today I am distributing my own salary of Rs 12,000 to these boys for sustenance. The Government has appointed only about 10 per cent of our boys as SPOs (Special Police Officials who get Rs 1,500 per month). The Government of India has earmarked Rs 4.5 crore for the rehabilitation of the surrendered militants. Our boys got nothing. If it was not for the Army's help they would have died of starvation and militants' attacks. The irony is our boys, as SPOs, who are facing mercenaries' guns are being armed with lathis.

Abdullah is a good man. As I understand him, he is an Indian at heart and mind. Farooq himself works hard but nothing moves.He does not have a grip on his party and is always afraid of a split if he takes some hard decisions. There are a very few men of his ideology in the cabinet. The National Conference continues to work under the culture of plebiscite. I wish he were tough.

Militancy will never end here. There is no political will to eradicate it.

There will be no Kukka Parrey in the future. The Government did not encourage us. When I raised the Awami League to fight elections I was not only fighting elections but also the pro-Pakistan ideology. I did not bargain for my victory like many others did. Even the NC put conditions for its participation.