KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
15-Jul-2019
After being banned by the Government of India, the Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) said the group would now lobby with the United State (US), Canadian, United Kingdom (UK) and European Governments, ‘exposing how India brands mere expression through peaceful means of a peaceful political opinion as ‘terrorism’ and seeks to curb dissent’. Rejecting Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s charge that the Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was backing the SFJ, it’s legal adviser Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said, “We filed defamation charges against Capt when he said it during his visit to the USA and Canada.
14-Jul-2019
The intelligence sources revealed that Pakistan is using Khalistani terrorist and ‘chief’ of Khalistan Commando Force (KCF), Paramjit Singh Panjwar to smuggle drugs into India via carpet exports to the west and south-east Asia for fuelling militancy in Punjab. Paramjit Singh Panjwar is based in Lahore since 1994, whereas his wife and two sons live in Frankfurt in Germany. The nexus has been exposed after massive seizures of drugs shipped from Pakistan by the Coast Guards of the Maldives, Sri Lanka and India in recent months.
14-Jul-2019
India, in a dossier to Pakistan, has mentioned nearly 30 instances in the past four years when Sikh pilgrims visiting the neighbouring country were subjected to ‘anti-India propaganda’ such as espousing the Khalistani cause. The 23-page dossier was handed over to the Pakistani delegation during the Kartarpur corridor talks held at Wagah. Gopal Singh Chawla, a key “Khalistani element”, instigated the Sikh community to support Kashmiris for the formation of “Azad Kashmir”, says the dossier. The paper also contained a “pictorial catalogue of his anti-India activities on social media”. India accused that the recently banned Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) was given a free hand to promote secessionism during visits of pilgrims. The dossier also mentioned names of others like Tara Singh, Bishan Singh and Maninder Singh were named in the dossier for displaying Khalistani propaganda and leading a protest against India at Wagah border in July 2017.
11-Jul-2019
Punjab Chief Minister Chief Minister Amarinder Singh described the ban on the pro-Khalistan outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) as the first step towards protecting the nation from the anti-India and secessionist plans and designs of the Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)-backed organisation. He said the association should be declared a terror organisation. Punjab Police and National Investigation Agency (NIA) have busted several modules of SFJ found indulging in various subversive activities in Punjab. Investigations revealed that the activists were radicalized and funded by abroad based SFJ handlers - Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Harmeet Singh, Paramjit Singh Pamma, etc. Ten cases have been lodged with Punjab Police while one case is with NIA in which 39 accused have been arrested.
11-Jul-2019
The Government of India downplayed the threats by al Qaeda and Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) saying, they are not to be taken seriously. Terming the pro-Khalistan group “Sikhs For Justice” a fringe group, External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that the organisation has no traction within the mainstream Sikh community and India takes no cognisance of what such fringe elements say.
11-Jul-2019
The legal adviser of the pro-Khalistan group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), Gurpatwant Singh Pannun had approached the Chinese authorities and claimed that there was ‘suppression of indigenous people's democratic movements of self-determination’ not only in Punjab but also in Kashmir and north-eastern states. According to an intelligence report, SFJ had started new propaganda warfare against India through social media,especially by launching “Burn the tricolour” videos to instigate the Khalistan issue, disrupt peace, social harmony and to create unrest in India. The report says,"Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, attorney of law, New York, legal adviser, SFJ, wrote a letter to Yao Jing, ambassador of China to Pakistan informing them about the role of an Indian intelligence agency in attack on Chinese consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, on November 23, 2018”.
10-Jul-2019
The Government of India banned the pro-Khalistan radical group, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) for five years and declared it as an “unlawful association” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The US-based secessionist outfit with the primary objective of establishing an independent and sovereign country has its top leadership based in US, UK and Canada, with just 8-10 active members and negligible support base in India. SFJ enjoys strong online presence through social media accounts run in its own name or by its leaders — main promoter Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a New York-based attorney, apart from Hardip Singh Nijjar and Paramjit Singh Pamma who are principal proponents of “Referendum 2020” in Canada and UK respectively. A senior Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) official said all the major Sikh bodies consulted ahead of the five-year ban had supported the action and that the Centre had largely relied on the “material” sent by Punjab Government to impose the ban.
10-Jul-2019
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court in Lucknow convicted five operatives of the ‘Babbar Khalsa’ outfit facing charges under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and also conspiring to assassinate former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in 2018, apart from supporting the Khalistan movement. The NIA had filed charge sheet against five accused, Gurjant Singh alias Jinta of Saharanpur, Amrit Singh of Haryana, Karam Singh, Karamveer Singh and Jarman Singh, who belong to Shamli. They were lodged in Lucknow District jail.
08-Jul-2019
The incidents of Sikh pilgrims being recruited by Pakistani intelligence agencies for pushing the pro-Khalistan movement have become a matter of concern for Indian security establishment. The issue of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) supporting the "Referendum 2020" campaign has come to the fore a week before India meets Pakistan to discuss Kartarpur Corridor operations.
08-Jul-2019
A senior Indian security official revealed that though Pakistan banned the pro-Khalistan activities, the ISI has been promoting the agenda under the guise of Sikh pilgrimage. He revealed that Indian Sikh ‘Jathas’ (pilgrimage groups), who visit Pakistan under the Bilateral Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974, are targeted by the separatist organisation. "Sikhs coming directly to Pakistan from Canada, UK and Germany are tutored on the so-called referendum campaign, which is largely funded by Islamabad," he said.
07-Jul-2019
The interrogation details of Sukhwinder Singh Sidhu, revealed that Sidhu was recruited by Rawalpindi when he visited the neighbouring country as part of a Jatha from India to visit Sikh holy shrines in Pakistan in November 2015 as part of Guru Parab celebrations. It is seriously concerned over Sikh pilgrims being recruited by Rawalpindi and used for promoting pro-Khalistan campaign “Referendum 2020”, Indian sources said.
04-Jul-2019
Indian intelligence agencies apprehend that Pakistan is more concerned and interested in opening of the Kartarpur Corridor because it wants to exploit Sikh sentiments to support the Khalistani agenda in India. The security agencies also apprehend that after opening of the corridor, Sikh radicalization will be increased manifold in the State of Punjab.
02-Jul-2019
India and Pakistan will have a second round of meeting to finalise the Kartarpur corridor modalities at Wagah on the Pakistan side of the border, on July 14. India had last week proposed that the meeting be held between July 11 and 14. Confirming the date, Pakistan asked the Indian side to convey the composition of its delegation. Pakistan also said it remained committed to expediting progress on the matter to ensure that the corridor is operationalised in time for the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak in November 2019.
01-Jul-2019
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh strongly condemned the sharing of a morphed picture of Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on social media platforms. The Pakistan-based pro-Khalistan leader and member of Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Gopal Singh Chawla has shared the Sidhu's morphed image sporting green turban with a star and crescent on his Facebook page. The photo was shared by many on social media platforms including Twitter.
01-Jul-2019
A mega exercise to fortify the ‘anti-infiltration grid’ along the Pakistan border in Punjab and Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) has been launched by the Border Security Force (BSF). The operation, code named Sudarshan, was launched on July 1, 2019, and will cover the entire over 1,000-kms length of the India-Pakistan International Border (IB) in Punjab and Jammu. While Jammu shares about 485-kms of the IB with Pakistan, about 553-kms of the front is in Punjab.
30-Jun-2019
After weeks of an impasse on the Kartarpur corridor, the Government of India has written to Pakistan, proposing the next round of talks to be held from July 11 to 14 on the Pakistani side of the Attari-Wagah border. The meeting would discuss the draft agreement on the modalities for movement of pilgrims along the Kartarpur corridor and resolve outstanding technical issues related to alignment and infrastructure along the corridor.The target was to complete the road by end September 2019 and the passenger/ pilgrim terminal by end October 2019, in time to operationalize the Kartarpur corridor on the occasion of the 550th birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev falling in November 2019. Meanwhile, India has also urged Islamabad to not promote secessionist activities while carrying out work on the corridor meant to facilitate pilgrimage to the Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara in Pakistan.
30-Jun-2019
The Punjab Police arrested a 28-year old person, identified as Sukhwinder Singh Sidhu alias Sukha who was working as a spy for Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and allegedly passing on sensitive military information to his Pakistan based intelligence operatives from Dharamkot area in Moga District of Punjab.
29-Jun-2019
The Customs Department had seized 532 kg of suspected heroin, worth around 2,700 crores, being smuggled from Pakistan in a truck through the trade route at the Attari border. The consignment was hidden under bags of salt in the truck which had come from Pakistan and one person was also arrested while another was detained.
28-Jun-2019
India informed Canada that there is little hope for improving frosty bilateral relations if Ottawa doesn’t address New Delhi’s concerns about the burgeoning activities of Khalistani operatives and organizations. The message was conveyed by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar when he held a bilateral meeting with his Canadian counterpart, Chrystia Freeland, on the margins of the G20 Summit in Japan. However, there was no official comment on the matter from Indian and Canadian officials.
24-Jun-2019
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh lambasted Canada for its “overt and covert” support to the Khalistan movement, warning that its failure to check anti-India activities being carried out from its soil would be detrimental to its own security. Citing findings of the John Major Commission into the 1985 Kanishka Bombing as a clear endorsement of Canada’s failure to act against Khalistanis operating from its soil, the Chief Minister said that by allowing the conspirators of the “mass murder”, the Canadian government had exposed its true intent.” “It is more than apparent that Canada has been extending its support to Khalistanis despite New Delhi’s protestations,” said Singh. He also cited the Canadian Security Intelligence Service’s 2018 Public Report to express concern over the fact that anti-India activities were on the rise in Canada
18-Jun-2019
Micro-blogging site Twitter has suspended pro-Khalistan propagandist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun's account following a complaint by the Indian Government. The legal adviser of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) -Pannun's account was suspended after a complaint by Sikh community claiming that Pannun is radicalizing Sikh youth with the help of illegal immigrants in the US and Canada. UK police arrested him in 2000, when he was entering England via Germany while returning from Pakistan after receiving terror training. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison as he was associated with proscribed organization Babbar Khalsa International (BKI).
11-Jun-2019
An intelligence report has revealed that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is helping pro-Khalistan militant group Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) to strengthen its network across Britain. The BKI has expanded its presence in cities like Birmingham, Derby and Coventry.
06-Jun-2019
A delegation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) met Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking the return of rare manuscripts and documents taken from the Sikh Reference Library at the Golden Temple complex by the Army during Operation Blue Star. SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal sought return of antiques, artefacts and books allegedly taken away by the Army during the operation, pension to those from the Sikh community who quit the Army in protest, and permission for a religious procession to Pakistan on the occasion of Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary.
06-Jun-2019
Around 5,000 security personnel have been deployed across Amritsar ahead of the 35th anniversary of Operation Blue Star. Also, 500 Policemen would be present inside the Golden Temple during an event to observe the anniversary. Apart from coordinating security arrangements with the Police, the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) will also be keeping a tab on the situation with the help of CCTV cameras. Parallel Sarbat Khalsa JathedarDhian Singh Mand is also expected to reach Akal Takht and read message to the community.
05-Jun-2019
An intelligence report submitted in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) claims that Canada-based Khalistani activists, backed by the Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence(ISI), is planning to target retired Police and Army Personnel to spread terror in Punjab. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh reviewed the state’s internal security and took stock of the law and order. He ordered the police to take all possible steps to verify such reports and check the spread of rumours, which could lead panic among people.