Varanasi: Dismissing reports of the Islamic
State gaining a foothold in Kashmir, Union Home Minister
Rajnath Singh said today that Indian Muslims would never allow
terrorist outfits such as IS to have a base in the country.
Singh also said he has complete faith in the Indian youth
that they would not let IS misled them.
"Any Indian Muslim who believes in Islam would not allow
any opportunity to the Islamic State to have a base in the
country," the Union home minister said.
His remarks came in wake of claims that the global terror
outfit was involved in an attack on security forces in
Srinagar on November 17 in which a terrorist, Mugees, was
killed and a sub-inspector, Imran Tak, lost his life.
The terrorist group claimed the attack through its
propaganda news agency, 'Amaq'. Photographs of Mugees with the
IS flag had surfaced on the social media. Even his body was
wrapped in the flag of the banned terror group during funeral.
Singh urged the young men, who live near the India-
Pakistan border and who have been misled into joining
terrorist groups, to return to the mainstream, saying proper
assistance would be provided to them.
Singh dismissed reports about IS gaining a foothold in
the Kashmir Valley and said there was no confirmation about
such reports. He said the matter was being investigated by
security agencies and any conclusion should be arrived at only
after their report was submitted to the government.
Commenting on the recent military standoff with the
Chinese Army in Dokalam area in Sikkim sector, Singh said
India wants cordial ties with its neighbours and even Chinese
president Xi Jinping has expressed his views on this.
Indian and Chinese armies were engaged in an over two-
month-long military standoff in the Dokalam area, which is
claimed by Indian ally Bhutan, after Chinese troops tried to
build a road. New Delhi opposed the construction of the road,
fearing it would allow Beijing to cutoff India's access to its
northeastern states.
The Union home minister also visited the house of Hindi
author Manu Sharma, who died earlier this month, in Varanasi
to pay his respects.
