Sikh youth are being trained at ISI facilities in Pakistan to carry out terror activities in India: Home Ministry

New Delhi, March 22: Sikh youth are being trained at ISI facilities in Pakistan to carry out terror activities in India. This was said by Home Ministry to a parliamentary panel on Wednesday in New Delhi.

 

Notably, the top officials of the Home Ministry headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh have conveyed to a parliamentary panel that Sikh youths are being trained at ISI facilities in Pakistan to carry out terror activities in India.

The Ministry also added that the Sikh community who are settled in Canada and other places are also being instigated against India with false and malicious propaganda. “Radicalisation of youth by terrorist groups through the misuse of internet and social media has emerged as a big challenge,” the Home Ministry added.

The report named ‘Central armed police forces and internal security challenges-evaluation and response mechanism’ which was tabled in Parliament on Monday said that there have been some major developments on the Sikh militancy front.

According to the report, the commanders of terror groups based in Pakistan are under pressure from ISI to further the Pakistani spy agency's terror plans not only in Punjab but also in other parts of the country. "Sikh youth are being trained at ISI facilities in Pakistan. Interdictions and interrogations have revealed use of jailed cadres, unemployed youth, criminals and smugglers by Pakistan-based Sikh terror groups for facilitating terror attacks," the report added.

The report further noted that Sikh youths based or settled in Europe, the United States (US) and Canada are also being instigated against India with false and malicious propaganda. However, the Home Ministry asserted that the situation is being watched closely by the central and state agencies and they are taking lawful action as and when required.

The Home Ministry in a report also noted that radicalization of youth by terrorist groups through the misuse of internet and social media has emerged as a big challenge. "Activities of radicalized people returning from conflict areas and a threat of lone wolf attack are also a challenge," it said.

“India continues to remain the prime focus of Pakistan-based terrorist outfits, particularly the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and a faction of Indian Mujahideen besides groups like SIMI and Al-Unmah,” the Home Ministry’s report added.

The reports also stated that there are indications regarding the revival of JeM in Pakistan and renewed efforts of the said outfit to cause harm to India. “Besides, the IS and al-Qaeda in Indian sub-continent have started posing new challenges to the existing security environment,” it added.

The ministry, in the end, also stated that violence by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) outfits continue to pose a threat to the internal security scenario in the country. "Since its formation in September 2004, CPI (Maoist) has emerged as the most potent among the LWE outfits active in the country," the report concluded.