Doval's 30-yr-old letter on Pak finds mention in RS

A letter by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval 30 years ago on Pakistan found a mention during a Parliamentary panel proceeding last month but the government has failed to locate it.

The letter in question was written by Doval in 1986 about Pakistan selling properties of people who left for India after 1965 and 1971 wars against the spirit of Tashkent Declaration of 1966.

It was Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi who spoke about the letter while deposing before the Rajya Sabha Select Committee on The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill on April 4.

Quoting from the deposition of Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary in 2010 before a Standing Committee on the same subject, Mehrishi said the state official mentioned that there is a letter from the Consul from Islamabad and it was about Pakistan disposing off the enemy properties.

“It is actually Mr Doval...Now we are trying to locate this letter,” Mehrishi told the panel headed by BJP MP Bhupender Yadav.

When CPI MP D Raja asked whether he was saying that the letter was not available, Mehrishi said he has asked the Intelligence Bureau where Doval was working to locate it. “Actually, the matter is so old and there is so much of record that even for us its a bit of research,” he said.

The issue referred in Doval’s letter is about the violation of the agreement reached by India and Pakistan on dealing with return of properties and assets taken over by either side in connection with the conflict.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, while issuing the ordinance in January to prevent legal heirs to acquire possession of enemy property, had said that Pakistan had sold or otherwise deposed off all the enemy property and assets of Indian nationals and companies in their country in 1971 itself.

However, In India, enemy properties continue to be with the Custodian of Enemy Property of India.