Anyone visiting Pak has to inform govt; else will face ‘blackmail': Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who has been accusing state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and his wife of Pakistan links, said on Monday that anyone visiting the neighbouring country without informing the government here will be 'blackmailed by them' for their entire lives. The chief minister, however, did not specify who would be behind the 'blackmail'. He maintained that if anyone visits Pakistan, they must inform the Indian government of their activities there. "Whether he has gone once or twice is not the thing. He himself has admitted that he had gone to Pakistan," Sarma told reporters here on the sidelines of a programme, when asked about Gogoi's comments on his links with the bordering nation at a conclave organised by Guwahati-based satellite channel 'Pratidin Time' in the national capital. "If someone goes to Pakistan, they have to inform the government of India how long they stayed, whom they met, with whom they clicked pictures, whose houses they visited," he said. Sarma maintained that if someone were to visit Pakistan without informing the authorities, they would be "blackmailed by them" for their entire lives by threatening to release photos and videos of the trip. "If I go to Pakistan without telling anyone, won't there be photos and videos of me there, meeting their people, army, ISI, etc. They will call me later and say that now as you are the CM, you have to do as we say," he claimed. Seeking to dismiss Gogoi's statement at the conclave that he had gone to Pakistan after his marriage as his wife was working there, Sarma said, "There is no connection whatsoever between getting married and going to Pakistan. People go to Switzerland, Kashmir, England, America after marriage, but have you ever heard anyone going to Pakistan?" The BJP leader maintained that the Congress MP "might have slipped away by sharing half-baked details about his Pakistan trip in front of 80 people at the conclave". "But he cannot get away in front of 3.5 crore people of Assam," Sarma asserted. Sarma has been attacking Gogoi and his British wife, Elizabeth Colburn, over the last few months, alleging that they have a connection with the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI. The Assam Cabinet constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the 'anti-India activities' of Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, who is claimed to have links with Colburn, and his associates on February 17, 2025. The SIT, led by Special DGP (CID) Munna Prasad Gupta, formally submitted the report to the Chief Minister on September 10. Sarma had said that the SIT report is a 96-page document, ''prepared with limited means, yet carrying heavy truths. Just a glance was enough to stir deep pain—showing how easily roots can be cut, and legacy bartered for shadows". The content of the report will soon be made public under the legal process, and he will share as much information as possible with the media barring the confidential details, he had said. Assembly elections in the state are due next year.

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