Though his name has been mentioned before as the guide who helped Raja Ehsanullah cross over to Pakistan, I would like to introduce Akbar as a spook. A resident of my neighbouring village, Bakhihakhar, Handwara, he came to be known as Akbar Jasoos. I never got to meet him as he went underground after the Srinagar Bomb Case came to light. Akbar may have been enlisted as a courier and spy by agencies on the other side. I had only heard stories of his so-called escapades crafted over the course of his ten-year tenure in the murky world of espionage. Some of the stories seemed to be only rumours, but by and large, what I am about to narrate is based on my personal knowledge.
Pakistani intelligence agencies may have been able to establish their espionage network in the Valley by collaborating with pro-Pakistan elements during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–48. Though he was illiterate, Akbar became a household name and legendary figure over time. He came to be identified not only as a notorious spy but also as a saboteur for allegedly burning down vital installations, including bridges, culverts and other assets like forest rest houses, tourist bungalows, etc. Subsequently, he reportedly became a trusted courier, transporting letters and cash for secret agents in the Valley and pro-Pakistan leaders. This made him the most wanted man by central agencies as well as the state police, particularly the SS headed by Sheikh Ghulam Qadir Ganderbali. However, Akbar was too clever to fall into any of their traps as he had intimate knowledge of the secret infiltration routes along the ceasefire line (CFL). He became a hardcore and dedicated Pakistani spy.
Read: The Indomitable Fate
A story in common circulation was that on one of his secret forays into Srinagar, Akbar saw Ganderbali near the famous Mir Pan House on Residency Road, close to the Kothibagh Police Station, which served as the headquarters of Ganderbali’s Special Staff. While passing by, Akbar reportedly approached him and asked, “What is the time by your watch?” It was a common query those days as only a few people could afford a watch. Ganderbali looked at his watch and told Akbar the time without getting the least suspicious. After a few days, Akbar was said to have boastfully broadcasted this incident on Azad Kashmir Radio, Trarkhal, in PoK. Though many such stories were attributed to Akbar, it is undisputed that he possessed the remarkable ability to cross the CFL undetected and at his discretion to execute subversive activities and acts of sabotage across the northern part of the Valley.
As time passed, I continued my education at SP College, Amar Singh College, Srinagar, and later at another university for my postgraduation in political science and LLB. Upon my return, I joined the Bar in Handwara and practised for a few years before being appointed as a Government Prosecutor at Anantnag. In 1958, following my mother’s death, I was reassigned to Handwara on compassionate grounds with the intervention of none other than Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, the then prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir, who knew my father and uncle as freedom fighters. Suddenly, I was told about Akbar’s arrest in the Bungus Valley near the CFL. The whole operation was purportedly carried out by a Sikh gentleman—a junior-level officer of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) posted at Handwara. This story seemed unbelievable and dubious as nobody could navigate the wilderness of the thick forests and lush green meadows of Bungus alone, that too so close to the CFL. Neither was the local police taken into confidence nor was a claim made of any assistance taken from the troops guarding the CFL. I knew the Sikh gentleman very well. In retrospect, given my personal experience of about 40 years in the field, I guess that Akbar, fed up with this life of stress and strain, must have negotiated his surrender through his relatives back home. Another possibility is that the IB officer may have taken the initiative and persuaded Akbar’s family for his surrender, a tactic not uncommon in such professions. Whatever the reality, it was the end of Akbar Jasoos’s covert career.
The IB officer further claimed to have seized a copy of the Holy Quran from Akbar’s possession. He showcased the sacred scripture, which, according to him, contained hundred-rupee Indian currency notes amounting to ₹10,000 concealed within its hardbound covers. Without separating the double hardcovers with a sharp knife or blade, the money could not be detected. The IB officer also showed two plain white paper sheets that had allegedly been used to cover the notes, claiming that they were actually letters written in invisible ink. The text of the letter could not be read with the naked eye without scientific aid from a forensic science laboratory. Surprisingly, the IB officer revealed the pinkish writing by rubbing a candle on the blank sheets. Being a young, untrained and inexperienced person, I watched the whole affair very inquisitively. It was a top secret affair shared only with me and the station house officer (SHO). According to the IB officer, Akbar had confessed that the amount was meant to be delivered to the wife of a jailed senior pro-Pakistan leader. I did not pursue the matter further but came to know that Akbar was not prosecuted in any court. He was soon moved to some unknown destination.
After a few years in jail, Akbar was released and he settled in his village, Bakhihakhar, in my neighbourhood. He resumed a normal life and my father helped him in his rehabilitation as a neighbour. Time passed and during one of my visits home, I found a middle-aged person sitting with my father in the verandah. He was introduced to me as Akbar Jasoos. I was excited to meet the legendary spy sitting in front of me and eager to hear some sensational stories of his life as a spy. Akbar disclosed the story of the selfish wife of an incarcerated politician, for whom he had brought money from a Pakistani agency at great risk to his life. According to him, he reached the politician’s house around sunset to deliver the money to his wife. Upon receiving the amount, she asked Akbar to leave immediately because she feared a police raid on her house. Akbar told her that it was dangerous for him to leave at such late hour and requested her to accommodate him in her house for the night. The lady refused despite his entreaties. She even refused him entry into the house, leading to an argument. Akbar did not budge and was determined to stay there as he was worried that he would be arrested if he stayed in some mosque or some other public space. Ultimately, instead of allowing him into her palatial house, the lady permitted him to stay on a tree in her lawn. Akbar climbed the tree and stayed there through the night. Before dawn, he got down and left.
Given his advanced age, Akbar did not engage in any anti-national or subversive activities following his release. However, with the mass uprising of the youth in the early 1990s and the subsequent opening of the Line of Control (LoC) after the appointment of Jagmohan as governor for a second time, Akbar found himself drawn back into the world of espionage. He volunteered to guide a group of youth across the LoC via the Bungus–Lipa Valley route. Destiny played a tragic role when Akbar and his group were noticed by the army somewhere near the LoC. The army fired and reportedly killed all of them, including our legendary Akbar Jasoos. According to my assessment, Akbar lost his life because he took an uncommon route for those days. Dumari Gali in the north was the only safe route used by Kashmiri youth; they were even allowed free passage by the security forces in the early 1990s. Nevertheless, Akbar laid down his life, proving his commitment to the profession he had taken up as early as 1947-48.
[Taken from the book ‘Guns Under My Chinar by A.M Watali]© Kashmir News Trust (KNT). Unauthorized use without attribution is prohibited.
