‘We were newly married, should I have sent my wife alone?’: Gaurav Gogoi on Pakistan visit

The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on February 9 held a press conference led by its president and Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi to counter allegations made by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over Gogoi’s alleged links with Pakistan and claims that his wife, Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi, shared sensitive information with the neighbouring country.

Addressing the media, Gogoi gave a detailed account of his visit to Pakistan, clarifying that there was nothing secretive or unlawful about it. He said that in 2014, after he became a Member of Parliament, his passport—which carried a stamp from Pakistan’s Home Department—was duly submitted to the central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “I later received a diplomatic passport from the Modi government itself. This clearly means that the central government was fully aware of my Pakistan visit as early as 2014,” he said.

Explaining the purpose of his 10-day stay, Gogoi said his wife had worked in Pakistan in 2012 for about a year under an international climate change programme funded by the British and Netherlands governments, which was being implemented across ASEAN countries. “For her official work, she had to be in Pakistan. As her husband, I accompanied her to see how she was living and working there, how a British national was managing in Pakistan,” he said.

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Gogoi said the couple visited places such as Lahore and Taxila during the visit. “We were newly married at the time. I went with my wife for her work. Why shouldn’t I? Should I have sent her alone? We visited Taxila, which is part of India’s ancient civilisation, and all permissions were taken as per law,” he added. He also said that his wife’s office was based in Islamabad and that all records related to the visit were submitted to the Modi government after he became an MP.

Further rejecting the allegations of financial or institutional links with Pakistan, Gogoi said that after his wife wrapped up her assignment and returned to India, all her bank accounts related to her work in Pakistan were closed.

The Congress leader maintained that the allegations were politically motivated and aimed at maligning him and his family, reiterating that all his actions were transparent and within the framework of the law.