ISI is backing Sikh militants: Shinde

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Wednesday voiced concern over Sikh militancy being fanned by the ISI in Pakistan as well as the high quality of counterfeit Indian currency being pushed inside India from across the border. Addressing the Chief Ministers’ Conference on security here, Shinde said there had been “significant development on the Sikh militancy front with its commanders in Pakistan under pressure to further the ISI (Pakistan spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence) terror plans”. “Sikh youths are being trained in ISI facilities in Pakistan,” he said, adding that the interrogation of suspects has revealed the use of “jailed cadres and unemployed youth to unleash terror attacks”. [caption id=“attachment_844057” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Sushilkumar Shinde. Agencies.[/caption] Shinde also said a large quantity of RDX and other explosives were finding their way into Punjab from across the border. India, he said, has a long and porous border with Nepal and Bangladesh which is being used by Pakistan-based jihadi groups to cajole youth for terror training in Pakistan and to push in hardware and finance into India to carry out terror attacks. “Jihadi tanzeems in Pakistan linked to the Let, JeM and IM (lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Indian Mujahideen), have set up tunnels for transfer of funds into India… Militants based in Gulf are collecting money for terrorism in India.” This, he said, points to the necessity for closer coordination between states and the centre; and the multi-agency centre needed to be strengthened for real time coordination of intelligence inputs. On fake Indian currency being pushed into India, Shinde said high quality fake currency notes were being printed in the “neighbouring country” and smuggled into India. “The fake currency notes are produced in sophisticated machines using real ink,” he said. “We live in a troubled neighbourhood and forces inimical to the country are working to hit at the country’s roots.” Shinde said the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir has improved and in the northeast many militant groups have shown willingness to abjure arms and join the peace process. “The government is ready to talk to any group that is ready to abjure arms,” Shinde added. IANS