Guwahati: Home Minister Rajnath Singh today expressed concern over the fact that some Indian youths have been attracted to terror group ISIS and said the government takes it as a challenge that cannot be left lightly. Singh also blamed “state actors” in Pakistan for attempts to destabilise India and said it has not abandoned its efforts to harm the country through “various tactics”.
Speaking a day after a Mumbai youth returned home after a stint with ISIS in Iraq, he said although the terror group was born out of Syria and Iraq, the Indian sub-continent cannot remain untouched by this menace which should be understood.
“It is also a matter of concern that some Indian youths have been attracted to ISIS. We cannot take it lightly. We take it as a challenge” he said addressing a conference of the DGPs and IGPs here.
Singh said arrest of Arif Majeed, who returned to Mumbai after disappearing in ISIS controlled areas in Iraq, was not an action to harass him, asserting that all such incidents will be taken on a case-by-case basis.
He described as a threat Al Qaida's declaration to form a wing—Qaeda-ul-Jehad—for the Indian sub-continent, and said the global terror group's intention was to bring Bangladesh, Assam, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir and some other parts of the country under its grip which the country would not allow to happen.
Singh said Pakistan continues to take the alibi of “non-state actors” being involved in subversive activities in India.
“If non-state actors are involved in terrorist acts in India, then is ISI a non-state actor? It is the state actors who have a role in trying to destabilising our country.
Pakistan has not abandoned its efforts to harm India through various tactics,” he said.
The Home Minister said many foreign terrorist groups think that since a large number of Muslims live in India, they can recruit many of them in their fold and fight for creation of an Islamic country.
“But Indian Muslims are patriotic and they have been fighting for the protection of their mother land since Independence. Indian Muslims are always ready to fight for the security and sovereignty of the country. And that is why such terrorist groups will not succeed,” he said.
Referring to the October 2 blast in Burdwan in West Bengal where Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was allegedly involved, the Home Minister said the incident had reflected that many foreign forces were misusing India's soil for their nefarious design.
“We have to check all these forces with our might,” he said.
The Home Minister talked about the failed attempt by the South Asia wing of the Al Qaeda to hijack a frigate of the Pakistan Navy and said the terror group was planning to target American and Indian Naval ships through the Pakistan Naval vessel if they could hijack it.
“What is of more concern for us is that some of the Pakistan Navy personnel were also involved in it. We should prepare ourselves to meet this challenge and I am sure victory will be ours,” he said. There evil designs will never get fulfilled in India.
Talking about the September floods in Jammu and Kashmir, Singh said relief and rehabilitation work has to be completed quickly as otherwise “some terror groups may be able to lure some youths into their fold”.
