Guwahati, Apr 28: At least 19 people were arrested by the police in Assam for their alleged ‘pro-Pakistan’ stand on social media and on other platforms, said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday.

Sarma said that till Sunday, 19 people have been put behind bars for their pro-Pak statements while residing on Indian soil.

Calling them “traitors”, he said, “A total of 19 anti-nationals have been put behind bars.”

The latest arrests happened in the Barpeta and Cachar districts.

The Chief Minister said that Jarif Ali was arrested in Barpeta while Imran Hussain and Komar Uddin were taken into custody from the Cachar district.

Among the 19 arrested people, the most prominent is AIUDF party MLA Aminul Islam. He was the first person to be arrested in the state for the “pro-Pakistan” stand.

Islam, AIUDF MLA from Assam's Dhing Assembly constituency, was arrested on Thursday on sedition charges following his provocative statement regarding the terror attack at Kashmir’s Pahalgam that claimed over 20 lives.

In a video clip circulated on social media, Islam is heard claiming that the Pahalgam and Pulwama attacks were part of a "government conspiracy".

He said: "Six years ago in Pulwama, when the RDX blast happened and 42 soldiers died, I said on that day the Pulwama blast happened at the behest of a conspiracy of the central government, and it was a conspiracy to win the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.”

He said what happened in Pahalgam is that the BJP has been peddling that the terrorists asked about religion and opened fire only on Hindus, and they let go of Muslims.

“But the victims said that the terrorists opened fire without asking about anybody's name, and I doubt that the nexus which was involved in the Pulwama attack in which RDX was used,” he said.

He said that the same nexus is behind the Pahalgam incident.

“If the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government does not conduct a fair investigation into the incident and tries to bring a division between Hindus and Muslims, I would believe that this incident happened because of a conspiracy,” Islam said, ‘blaming’ PM Modi and HM Amit Shah.

AIUDF chief Maulana Badaruddin Ajmal distanced himself from his MLA Islam's comments.

Ajmal said, “AIUDF stands with the government. The terrorists have no religion, and those who spread terrorism are against Islam.”

--IANS

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