43 arrested for 'defending Pakistan' post Pahalgam attack

Guwahati: One more person has been apprehended in Assam for "defending Pakistan on Indian soil" following the Pahalgam terror attack, taking the total of arrests to 43 so far, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday.

Sarma, in a post on X, said the person was held in Barpeta district.

"#Update on crackdown against traitors for defending Pakistan on Indian soil... Total 43 anti-nationals have been put behind BARS for sympathising with Pakistan. No TRAITOR will be SPARED (sic)," he wrote.

Addressing a press conference during the day, the CM said: "(Provisions of the) NSA (National Security Act) will be clamped on certain people who have been arrested, but not on all. Some have already apologised and said that they will not do it again."

There will be categorisation of the arrested persons, as some are habitual offenders, while others did it for publicity, Sarma said.

"There is another category with Left leanings, who have done it for political reasons. A committee will take the decision on whom NSA will be imposed and it is not going to be a political decision," he added.

Earlier, opposition AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam was arrested on sedition charges for allegedly defending Pakistan and its complicity in the Pahalgam attack.

On Friday, Sarma had warned of stringent action against those who raised 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans in the aftermath of the April 22 attack.