ISI sponsoring Sikh militants, says Shinde

At a time when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is warming up to the new dispensation in Pakistan, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told a gathering of chief ministers that the ISI is putting pressure on Sikh militants to unleash terror in the country.

Addressing a conference of chief ministers on internal security at Vigyan Bhavan, Shinde said: “There have also been some significant developments on the Sikh militancy front. Its commanders based in Pakistan are under pressure from the ISI to further its terror plans, not only in Punjab but also in other parts of the country.”

According to the home minister, Sikh youths are being trained in ISI facilities in Pakistan. He further disclosed that interdictions and interrogations have revealed that “jailed cadres, unemployed youth, criminals and smugglers” are being propped up by “the Pakistan-based Sikh terror groups for facilitating terror attacks”.

Interestingly, the ISI is motivating the Sikh youths based in Europe and the US to realise their plans, the minister pointed out.

A large quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives, including RDX, have been pushed into Punjab through the borders. A significant quantity of RDX was recovered by police in Rajasthan and Punjab in the last one year.

Interestingly, Shinde did not mention the National Counter Terrorism Centre, which he is trying to hard sell to the states.

The minister drew the attention of the delegates, comprising chief ministers and senior state officials, to the Pakistan-based terror outfits affiliated to the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Indian Mujahideen. He said the outfits are setting up channels for transfer of funds from the neighbouring country to India via the Gulf and Nepal, “besides using Western Union Money Transfer” and hawala channel.

Shinde lauded security establishments for busting several terror modules and averting a number of blasts. This was possible due to the close coordination between  the central and state intelligence agencies, he said.

He also furnished figures to show that militancy in Jammu and Kashmir has come down. “Infiltration attempts have decreased by 19.35 per cent due to the multi-pronged approach of the government to contain cross-border infiltration.

The declining trend in violence continues in the current year with 35.29 per cent decline in incidents in 2012 compared to 2011.

 Also there has been a decrease in civilian and security force casualties by 51.61 per cent and 54.54 per cent respectively in the state,” he told the gathering.