The Centre has said Pakistan’s intelligence agency is facilitating the training of Sikh youths to carry out terror activities in India, PTI reported on Wednesday. Sikh youths who live abroad are being instigated against India using propaganda, but Indian agencies are closely watching the situation, the Ministry of Home Affairs told the Parliament’s Committee on Estimates.

The ministry’s report, titled “Central armed police forces and internal security challenges – evaluation and response mechanism”, was tabled in Parliament on Monday.

“Sikh youth are being trained at ISI facilities in Pakistan,” the government’s report said, referring to the Inter-Services Intelligence. “Interdiction and interrogations have revealed the use of jailed cadres, unemployed youth, criminals and smugglers by Pakistan-based Sikh terror groups for facilitating terror attacks.”

The leaders of these militant groups are under pressure from the ISI to carry out such attacks in Punjab and other parts of the country, the report said, adding that India’s central and state agencies are taking lawful action as and when required.

The government said terror groups were now using secure social media platforms and proxy servers to avoid being detected by intelligence and law enforcement agencies.