NEW DELHI: Home ministry has conveyed to a parliamentary committee that Sikh youth are being trained at ISI facilities in Pakistan to carry out terror activities in India, and members of the community who are settled in
Canada and other places are also being instigated against the country with false and malicious propaganda.
The panel’s report, tabled in Parliament on Monday, carries the observation of the ministry which also noted that the radicalisation of youths by terrorist groups through the misuse of internet and social media has emerged as a big challenge. The ministry shared this information in a note to the committee while talking about “developments on the Sikh militancy front”.
It said the “commanders” of terror groups based in Pakistan were 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 said.
The ministry also informed the panel that India continues to remain the prime focus of Pakistanbased terrorist outfits, particularly the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and a faction of Indian Mujahideen besides groups like SIMI and Al-Unmah. The committee on estimates headed by senior
BJP leader Murli Manohar
Joshi, in its report recommended the ministry take up multiple measures to strengthen and modernise central armed police forces (CAPFs) to face security related challenges and also took note of various issues including quality of food being served to the CAPF personnel.
Briefing media about the findings of the committee, Joshi on Wednesday said that the panel has felt that the central government should supplement the efforts of the state governments. It recommended that the state governments and the home ministry may explore the concept of deputation of state police force personnel in adequate numbers to specific CAPF for a period of three years or so where they would be trained and deployed, he added.
As far as instances of serving poor quality food being served to ‘jawans’ is concerned, the ministry conveyed to the panel that some officers of the BSF were found to be “negligent” over complaints of poor quality food and action has been initiated against “some persons”.
