Assam CM Hits Out at Gaurav Gogoi, Claims Pakistan-Funded Connections and Intelligence Breach

GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday held a press conference, calling it a sombre moment for the state rather than a celebratory occasion. 

“This press meet is not a matter of joy. It is a day of sorrow for Assam,” CM Sarma said, tracing the controversy back to September 2015, when Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, while in Singapore, allegedly led a group of young people to Pakistan—a trip that later surfaced on social media. The Chief Minister expressed surprise that an elected Member of Parliament had undertaken such a delegation.

Referring to an investigation report submitted to the Assam Cabinet under CID Police Station Case Number 05/2025, registered under Sections 48, 61, 152, and 197(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, read with Section 13(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, CM Sarma said the case represents what he described as a “new face of Pakistani hostile activities.” He alleged that instead of bombs and guns, Pakistan is now using carefully placed individuals, secret communications, classified information sharing, and financial manipulation. “The threat has evolved, but the enemy remains the same,” he said.

The Chief Minister said he initially doubted a circulating photograph showing Gogoi in Pakistan because of his position as an MP and the son of a Chief Minister.

“I did not believe it. But when Congress confirmed he did go, I believed that something was there. That is when we started the investigation,” he added, noting that attempts to defend the photograph raised further suspicion.

CM Sarma alleged that Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, a Pakistani national from Islamabad who serves as an advisor to Pakistan’s Planning Commission and CEO of LEAD Pakistan, has close ties to the country’s military establishment and has been involved in operations targeting India. He claimed Sheikh promoted narratives during the Citizenship Amendment Act protests and posted messages supporting Gaurav Gogoi on social media, tagging Elizabeth, but deleted those posts after the investigation began. The Chief Minister alleged that Sheikh deleted posts to protect someone and had visited India 13 times during Manmohan Singh’s tenure but stopped visiting after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister.

“Sheikh’s focus was on supporting the Indus Water Treaty, which the Government of India had cancelled following Operation Sindoor last year. Sheikh believed that the treaty favoured Pakistan and that the Indian government should not interfere, and he actively advocated for it on the global stage. Under the guise of climate action, Sheikh created a political narrative portraying India as disenfranchising Muslims through the NRC and CAA. He also published numerous social media posts and articles on Assam, claiming that Pakistan and Bangladesh had rights over the state, framing it as an unfinished agenda of partition. He accused the BJP of pursuing a Hindu nationalist agenda, criticised interfaith marriages, and called for Pakistan and Bangladesh to share their views on Assam’s Muslim population. Additionally, he wrote articles on the Delhi riots. These actions indicate that he was never genuinely an environmentalist and that his stance on the Indus Water Treaty and other related issues aligned with Pakistan’s interests amid ongoing India-Pakistan conflicts,” CM Sarma added.

The Chief Minister further alleged that Elizabeth was appointed in India a year after another appointment, with her salary paid from Pakistan and her contract controlled by a Pakistan-based office. He claimed that Elizabeth transmitted Intelligence Bureau reports to Pakistan, coding them before sending them to Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, and proposed a “Low Risk, Low Visibility” policy after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister to bypass the central government and work with smaller institutions at the state level.

He alleged that Elizabeth and Ali Tauqeer Sheikh were involved in an international conspiracy, and that she did not take Indian citizenship after marrying Gaurav Gogoi, remaining a British citizen. CM Sarma stated she joined LEAD Pakistan on March 18, 2011, with an initial salary of ₹2 lakh per month, later increased to ₹2.5 lakh, and admitted to holding a Pakistani bank account, which he claimed may still exist. He alleged that Gaurav Gogoi did not disclose this in his election affidavit and failed to answer whether such an account still existed.

Highlighting potential violations of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, CM Sarma claimed that while Pakistani NGOs are prohibited from donating to Indian NGOs, LEAD India allegedly received ₹91.27 lakh from LEAD Pakistan, including ₹63.48 lakh in payments and ₹82.41 lakh paid as salary to Elizabeth. He noted that her reporting manager earned only ₹50,000, raising further questions about financial propriety.

CM Sarma cited extracts from employment agreements stating that Elizabeth was line-managed by the Asia Regional Director and Asia Regional Manager in Islamabad, that the Pakistan office administered her contract, and that strategic and budgetary control over the India programme was held jointly by Pakistan and London offices. He claimed CDKN’s India programme was managed and directed by LEAD Pakistan as part of the Asia programme.

The Chief Minister listed multiple allegations against Elizabeth Colebourn, including links to George Soros via Senator Tom Udall, refusal to disclose Pakistani bank account details, shadow employment arrangements, concealed Pakistani funding, transmission of confidential reports, bypassing the central government, exploiting Centre–State political tensions, multiple Pakistan visits, and coordination with Ali Tauqeer Sheikh.

CM Sarma alleged that Gaurav Gogoi stayed in Pakistan for 10 days between December 14 and December 18, 2013, claiming it was to meet his wife. “But at that time, Elizabeth was not working in Pakistan. She was working in India and staying at the Chief Minister’s residence,” he said, adding that the visit was concealed on social media, conducted via the Attari border, and that the visa was initially issued for Lahore but later amended to allow travel to Islamabad and Karachi by Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior.

Raising further questions, the Chief Minister asked who facilitated special permission from Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior within one day, what the true purpose of the 10-day visit was, whether Gaurav Gogoi met Ali Tauqeer Sheikh in Pakistan, and whether the visit was linked to Gogoi’s parliamentary questions on nuclear plants, border security, and defence forces. He also questioned the relationship between Gogoi’s climate change questions and Elizabeth’s work.

Key findings from the investigation and interrogation were also highlighted by CM Sarma. When Elizabeth Gogoi was questioned about the close association and liaison of Ali Tauqeer Sheikh with Gaurav Gogoi during the Pakistan visit in December 2013, she declined to answer. Officials noted that Gaurav’s visit occurred 21 months after Elizabeth had resigned from LEAD Pakistan, with no professional obligation linking him to the country at that time. Her refusal to respond raised further questions about the real agenda of the visit, suggesting that a meeting between Gaurav Gogoi and Ali Tauqeer Sheikh likely did occur, though the nature of their discussions remains concealed. Investigators also noted that Elizabeth may have acted as a conduit between the two.

The Chief Minister drew attention to a pattern of parliamentary questions raised by Gaurav Gogoi in the Lok Sabha, which included matters of military preparedness, defence imports, assessment of air squadrons and submarines, espionage at the Pakistani High Commission, risk evaluation in the shipping industry, Kashmir-related issues, and strategies for the National Water Mission—areas that overlapped with Elizabeth’s professional work. CM Sarma described these questions as aligning with Pakistan’s strategic interests, suggesting further investigation was warranted due to Elizabeth Colebourn’s extensive networks in Pakistan. Post-election, Gogoi had also asked sensitive questions regarding nuclear power plants, uranium tapping, border security, defence forces, domestic arms manufacturing rules, shipping industry risk evaluations, espionage, and climate change—reinforcing concerns about the strategic alignment of his parliamentary inquiries.

CM Sarma also raised concerns about Gaurav Gogoi facilitating access to the Pakistan High Commission during a Youth Forum on Foreign Policy (YFFP) event on 14 September 2015, organised by his NGO, YFFP, in New Delhi. The Chief Minister alleged that the event was conducted without clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs, bypassing official diplomatic channels. Evidence included a group photograph of Gogoi with Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit, posted on the YFFP Facebook page.

Finally, CM Sarma addressed the surrender of Gaurav Gogoi's son Kabir Gogoi’s Indian citizenship on 12 May 2022 at the Passport Office in New Delhi. Official records cited the reason as the acquisition of citizenship of another country by the applicant’s parents. The Chief Minister described this as prima facie misleading, noting that neither parent had acquired new citizenship and that Elizabeth Colebourn has always held a UK passport. He urged central agencies to verify whether either parent held undisclosed foreign citizenship.

CM Sarma questioned the surrender of Gogoi’s son’s passport, alleged discrepancies in religion records, the dual citizenship of the children, and why certain details were altered during official proceedings. He also warned that Gaurav Gogoi could be vulnerable to blackmail by Pakistan if compromising material existed and stated, “If he ever held high office, Pakistan could seek secrets and threaten to leak material. He is the most vulnerable politician.” Responding to allegations regarding his own properties, the Chief Minister challenged critics to file a Public Interest Litigation, asking, “If any of my property is illegal, are you Pakistani?”

The press conference has intensified political tensions in Assam, with CM Sarma framing the allegations as a serious national security concern and urging central agencies to investigate multiple unanswered questions about foreign links, financial transactions, and potential breaches of national security.

Also Read: Assam Cabinet Refers Gaurav Gogoi-Linked Case to MHA, Seeks Central Agency Takeover