ISI supports terror groups: Jitendra Singh

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday told Parliament that Pakistan’s spy agency continued to back terror groups targetting India. The statement comes barely a fortnight after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani as a “man of peace” and the latter denied any role of state actors in anti-India terror acts.

In a reply to question on ISI’s role, minister of state for home Jitendra Singh told the Lok Sabha that every big terror group had the active backing of Pakistan’s semi rogue spy agency.

“As per available intelligence inputs, Pakistanbased terrorist outfits, particularly Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizbul Mujahideen, etc, continue to receive support from ISI,” the minister informed the House. He said the government was committed to combating terrorism, extremism and separatism in all its forms and manifestation as no cases, genuine or imaginary, could justify terrorism. The government, he said, has taken various measures in this regard.

Replying to another question, the minister said investigation into terrorismrelated cases by state police forces and disclosures of arrested persons revealed names of a few terrorist elements in Bihar having links with LeT.

On the basis of inputs, four LeT operatives of Bihar were identified and arrested between 2004 and 2009, he said.