11-Jan-2023
Pakistan government has appointed a senior officer of its intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Project Management Unit (PMU) that manages the affairs of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib on the Pakistan side of Kartarpur Corridor. According to highly placed sources, the Deputy Secretary (Administration), Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) had on January 11 issued a notification number 212 for the appointment of Muhammad Abu Bakar Aftab Qureshi, Deputy Director General, Directorate General ISI as CEO, PMU, Kartapur Sahib for a period of three years. The appointment of an ISI officer as well as a non-Sikh as head of PMU is being criticized by the international Sikh community who are of the view that a non-Sikh couldn’t take ‘correct’ decisions with regards to the religious affairs of Sikhs besides being an official of ISI, he could use the platform of PMU to further anti-India agenda.
04-Nov-2022
According to reports, Pakistan issued visas to nearly 3,000 Indian pilgrims under the framework of the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974 to participate in celebrations in several cities in the bordering nation on the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak from November 6-15.
01-Nov-2022
According to intelligence sources, pro-Khalistan terrorist groups have infiltrated gurudwaras in Pakistan’s Lahore under a “new game plan” by Pakistan in a bid to promote extremism in the Indian Sikh community against Hindus and the Indian government. The intelligence inputs said that the alleged hijacker of the Srinagar-Lahore flight in 1984 was seen meeting Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh in Panja Sahib Gurdwara in Lahore. Pakistan’s game plan as such is to keep Khalistani extremists in gurudwaras in Lahore so that they can “radicalize” Sikh devotees, sources said. Intelligence sources further said the alleged flight hijacker Ravinder Singh Pinka and his associates were meeting Sikh devotees from India, who have gone to Pakistan to observe the 100th anniversary of Saka Panja Sahib. Pinka deliberately clicked a photo with Giani Harpreet Singh. Later, however, when officials of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) were informed about Pinka, the video was immediately taken down from the SGPC website. Sources also said the Jathedar belonged to the entire community and nobody was prohibited from meeting him, and that Giani Harpreet Singh might not even know or recognize Pinka.
31-May-2022
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has strongly condemned the murders and said in a statement that, "This is not the first time that the Sikh community in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, (KP) has been targeted and we demand that the KP police identify and arrest the perpetrators promptly." The brutal incident took place on May 15, in which two Sikh traders--Kuljeet and Ranjit Singh got killed on the outskirts of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. This was the 'twelfth' such incident since 2014 when Sikhs were targeted by extremists in KP province alone.
10-Apr-2022
According to Pakistani media report, a life-size statue of the first ruler of the Sikh Empire Maharaja Ranjit Singh has been restored and is soon expected to be reinstalled at a safer place at Lahore Fort, months after it was last vandalised by an activist of a banned Islamist party.
08-Apr-2022
In a bid to facilitate a number of Sikh pilgrims arriving in Lahore from India via Wagah, the Pakistan Railways (PR) has decided to run nine special trains. The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) said that as many as 2,500 Sikh pilgrims will enter Pakistan on foot via the Wagah border to attend the Vaisakhi festival. Some pilgrims will also reach Pakistan from the UK and Canada too. At Wagah, the ETPB officers and Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) office bearers will welcome the pilgrims.
07-Apr-2022
The Pakistan High Commission has issued over 2,200 visas to Sikh pilgrims for Baisakhi on April 14.
01-Mar-2022
According to reports, Pakistani authorities have set up a joint committee to decide on the handing over of an over 100-year-old gurudwara in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to the Evacuee Property Trust Board (EPTB) for its restoration and proper preservation. Officials said that the team constituted by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would visit Sri Guru Singh Sabha gurudwara in Mansehra district before finalising its report and submitting it to the authorities.
04-Feb-2022
The Sikh community around the world condemned Pakistan for removing the statue of great Sikh general Hari Singh Nalwa in Haripur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan.
30-Jan-2022
According to sources, the Pakistan government has taken various measures to motivate the devotees from India to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur Corridor, in large numbers even as the Project Management Unit (PMU), an exclusive department created under Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) for the management of Kartarpur Corridor is striving hard given the sinking economy of Pakistan.
13-Jan-2022
In a video, Sikh For Justice (SFJ)'s chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said that the group has written to Imran Khan to support the Khalistan Referendum. In this video, Pannun is openly reaching out to Khan and has urged the Pakistani government to "diplomatically intervene" to support the Khalistan Referendum. In addition, he said, "SFJ has written a letter to Imran Khan and the message is to the people of Pakistan. Fall of Dhaka is past and we're asking PM Imran Khan to diplomatically intervene and support the Khalistan referendum. It will lead to fall of Delhi. Indira Gandhi had supported the Bangladesh war and Bangladesh was lost. It’s time for a payback in the same way. Khalistan Referendum will liberate Punjab from the Indian occupation." "Now is the time that India should be balkanized into small parts. You are raising the issue of Kashmir and its time to support Khalistan Referendum and Sikhs. Join hands with us and we're seeking diplomatic intervention," Pannun goes on to say in the video.
12-Jan-2022
According to reports, the Pakistani media is now openly backing the Sikhs For Justice (SFJ). An article in Radio Pakistan, published on January 12, has claimed that "India has launched a massive propaganda to malign the Sikhs for Justice". It further states that India is trying to get the SFJ banned in the United States. It added that India has also arrested Jaswinder Singh Multani, a member of the SFJ for his involvement in the recent Ludhiana court blast. The editorial claims that the United States administration has refused to accept India's attempts "of labeling the Khalistan movement as terrorism". Moreover, it also claims that other countries like United Kingdom, United States and Canada continued to allow SFJ and its referendum activities as an "expression of political opinion under the freedom of expression".
16-Jun-2021
Pakistan, citing the covid-19 pandemic, denied permission to a Sikh jatha (group of pilgrims) that was scheduled to visit it via the Attari-Wagah border on June 21. The jatha was to stay in Pakistan for 10 days and was to commemorate the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Gurdwara Dehra Sahib in Lahore on June 29, besides visiting Sikh religious places.
15-Jun-2021
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Bibi Jagir Kaur wrote a letter to the Pakistan government and urged to repair Gurdwara Nanaksar Sahib built in the memory of Sri Guru Nanak Dev situated in Chakk Fateh Bhinder village in Daska tehsil of Sialkot district in Punjab provinces of Pakistan. The SGPC president has urged the Pakistan government to pay special attention towards the maintenance of Gurdwara Nanaksar Sahib in Sialkot district, by getting the shrine repaired immediately. "If the Pakistan government has any difficulty in the Sikh shrine, then the service of this shrine should be handed over to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Sri Amritsar. The SGPC is ready to do Sewa (voluntary service) of this place," she said.
06-Jun-2021
According to reports, Sikhs in Pakistan took out an anti-India rally in Nankana Sahib to condemn the attack on the Golden Temple by Indian forces in June 1984. Sources said that rally participants held placards and banners with anti-India slogans. The protesters led by pro-Khalistani leader Gopal Singh Chawla demanded of the United Nations to take action against Indian culprits involved in the massacre of Sikhs in 1984.
04-Jun-2021
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) said that Pakistan government, citing the second wave of Covid-19, has denied permission to a group of Sikh pilgrims from India who wanted to visit the historic Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore to mark the martyrdom day Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru.
29-May-2021
A Hindu lawmaker, Keeso Mal Kheeal Das, a member of the National Assembly, submitted a bill in the lower house of Pakistan Parliament which intends to refer religious minorities as ‘non-Muslims’. Called as the Constitution Amendment Act, 2021, the bill aims to end discrimination against Pakistani non-Muslims who have been also referred in the constitution as minorities. He suggested that the bill should be adopted and brought into effect immediately. The government has not opposed the bill so far and the matter has been referred to the relevant standing committee. After it is vetted by a bipartisan committee of the house, it will be presented for voting.
28-May-2021
Pakistan-based Khalistani leader Gopal Singh Chawla admitted that a Gurdwara granthi, Ranjit Singh, sending out the voice message which warned members of the Pakistani Sikh community, but he said the motive was different. In a video message uploaded on social media, Chawla, whose handlers are with ISI, said Sikhs of Pakistan always took guidance from gurdwara granthis. “The message was indeed from granthi Ranjit Singh, but he wanted to convey something else,” Chawla said. Instead, Chawla claimed, the granthi was giving a message to Sikh youth to not loiter around late in the night and reach home on time. He also pointed to deteriorating Sikh religious values and practices in Pakistan, as he claimed that Sikh youth of Pakistan had gone astray from the path of Sikhism.
24-May-2021
In an audio message circulating among Sikh groups of Pakistan, a Sikh religious leader has cautioned the community members based in Lahore and Nankana Sahib to not move out of their houses late at the night due to threat from Taliban. The Pakistani Sikh leader said he has been informed about these threats by the officials of Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) after the culmination of religious services at Gurdwara Dera Sahib, Lahore on May 24. The leader appealed to the Sikhs of Lahore and Nankana Sahib to furnish their credentials with the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGC) and Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) for security arrangements. However, the chairman of ETPB, Dr Aamer Ahamd denied the reports of asking Sikhs to furnish their details with them. “We vehemently deny such reports, there is no threat to Sikhs in Pakistan,” said Aamer.
13-May-2021
A United States (US) body on religious freedom in its latest report has been scathing in its criticism of Pakistan and China over the appalling condition of the minority communities in their states. Stating that underage girls from the Hindu, Sikh and Christian communities continue to be kidnapped for conversion to Islam, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its annual report said that around 1,000 such incidents occur in Pakistan every year.
12-May-2021
A granthi of a Pakistan Gurdwara was suspended after his sleazy video went viral on the net causing much embarrassment to the authorities of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) and its parent body Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB).
07-May-2021
According to sources, a group of Sikh leaders of Pakistan, reportedly led by former Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) president, Bishan Singh, held a meeting with the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) top brass seeking change in leadership. Sources alleged that Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) bosses were not “satisfied” with the performance of the present PSGPC president Satwant Singh in finding “soft targets” from among the Indian Sikh jathas to push the Khalistan movement. Taking advantage of this, a Sikh lobby led by Gopal Singh Chawla is trying to oust Satwant, they added.
29-Apr-2021
Pakistan’s Religious and Minorities Affair Department has failed completely to utilize its Rs 370.20 million funds in the first 10 months of this fiscal year in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). According to the official sources, out of the Rs 370 million allocated funds around Rs 350 million were released by the Finance Department but the Religious Affairs Department only managed to utilize Rs 110.93 million funds.
25-Apr-2021
Pakistan’s National Command and Operation Centre informed that the Kartarpur Corridor was closed for pilgrims since 16th of last month owing to rising disease spread.
23-Apr-2021
According to reports, Pakistan’s anti India propaganda machinery is now projecting a Muslim in guise of Sikh who has given a call to Sikh community to join hands with Islamist activists against the French people and to boycott the French products in protest against publishing of caricatures of Prophet Mohammed. In a video message which was uploaded on social media on Friday, a turban clad person said that this was the right time to reply to the temerity of French people and the man is also heard saying that he had visited a few shopping malls where he saw ‘boycott' labels attached to the French products. Notably, in the recent past there had been violent protests against France, after French president Emmanuel Macron defended the publication of a caricatures of Prophet Mohammed and pledged to fight the Islamist separation. Meanwhile, the Indian Sikh jatha on visit to Pakistan had to be stopped due to protest by the activists of Islamist body Teherek-i-Labaik Pakistan on April 12. While ensuring support of Sikh community to the Islamist jihadi’s, he said that they should be like Hitler to the French people who dared to publish the blasphemous caricature of Prophet Mohammed. Intelligence sources informed that the person in the provoking video was Qasam Dogar who calls himself Sardar Qasam Dogar Singh and was on the payrolls of ISI like Pakistan’s pro Khalistani leader Gopal Singh Chawla.
26-May-2020
The World Sikh Parliament (WSP) released two videos, one in English and one in Punjabi, with advice for Gurudwaras around the world on considerations they should take when reopening their doors to the Sangat after the lockdown.
25-May-2020
A Pakistani man, who attacked the Guru Arjan Dev shrine in Derby in Derbyshire, UK was arrested on May 25 morning. The Gurudwara described the vandalization of the shrine as a hate crime. The vandal left a hand-written note in broken English on a piece of paper in the Gurudwara, making an appeal to Sikhs to ‘help people in Kashmir’. Interestingly, besides scribbling ‘Pak Allah Pak’' in a corner of the paper, he had also provided a phone number. According to sources, Police later identified the man and arrested him.
06-May-2020
Despite a long-running campaign by some sections of the Sikh community, the House of Commons approved the draft census order for England and Wales on May 6 night without an ethnic Sikh tick-box in the ethnicity section. In response to the question asking their ethnic group, the British Sikh will have the option of ticking Asian/Asian British and then whether Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese, or any other Asian background (stating which), or they can write in Sikh.
26-Apr-2020
The Sikh Federation UK (SFUK) threatened the Scottish government with legal action claiming discrimination for failing to include a tick-box response option for Sikhs in the ethnicity section of its proposed census. The federation claims that this contravenes the European Convention of Human Rights, EU law and the Equality Act 2010.
13-Apr-2020
Vaisakhi will not be marked with the customary large gatherings and melas in different parts of the UK this year as the community is urged to stay safe amid the coronavirus pandemic, with all events cancelled. Meanwhile, Prince Charles issued a video message to convey his “lakh lakh vaidhaiyan” to the Sikh community in the UK and across the Commonwealth on the occasion of Vaisakhi and praised the “selfless service” of the British-Sikh community in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.
08-Mar-2020
British Pakistani and Kashmiri community held a protest outside Indian High Commission in London on March 8 afternoon. The protest was organized by Global Pakistan and Kashmir Supreme Council (UK) and the participants also raised slogans for freedom of Kashmir and Khalistan from Indian subjugation.
23-Feb-2020
UK based KLF militants had assembled to discuss the future course of the group after the death of Happy PHD. A total of eight persons, Gursharanvir Singh, Amritveer Singh, Avtar Singh Khandaand Amanveer Singh, attended the meeting. Gursharanvir vouched for himself citing his close ties with former KLF ‘chiefs’ -Happy PhD, Mintooo. While asking to avoid Italian and swiss contender he called for the continuation of violent activities.
17-Feb-2020
Pakistani human rights activists and members of the Indian community continued their protest for the second day on February 17 outside the Pakistan High Commission in London seeking justice for the minor Hindu girl, Mehak Kumari who was forcibly converted to Islam and married to a Muslim man in Sindh. She was abducted by a man, Ali Raza, from the Jacobabad district of Sindh province on January 15. The girl said she was forced to accept Islam, causing a widespread furor among the Islamic fanatics.
16-Feb-2020
The Indian diaspora in the UK in collaboration with Lalkar Social Forum and other Pakistani human rights activists staged a protest outside the Pakistan High Commission in London seeking justice for the minor Hindu girl, Mehak Kumari who was abducted, forcibly converted to Islam and married to a Muslim man in Sindh.
26-Jan-2020
The Scotland Yard provided strict security around the Indian high commission building in London and prevented recurrence of violence as protesters raised anti-India slogans and separatist demands related to Khalistan and Kashmir. According to report, only less than 1,000 people attended the much-hyped anti-India protest. After the diplomatic pressure from India, British authorities took adequate measures, including mounted police and cameras to record and identify protesters.
24-Jan-2020
Around 15,000 British Kashmiris plan to attend the protest outside the Indian high commission building in London on January 26 as India celebrates Republic Day. The protest, which starts at 1 pm was called by the groups like Tehreek-e-Kashmir UK, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) and the World Sikh Parliament. Pro-Khalistan Sikhs, British Pakistanis and Britons who originate from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) are expected to take part in the protest..
23-Jan-2020
According to reports, protesters have been mobilizing people in large numbers to join the agitation outside the Indian embassy in London and burn copies of the Indian Constitution on January 26. Some pro-Khalistan fringe groups are also joining hands with Pakistani groups in the protest. Messages are widely circulated using various social media platforms inviting ‘like-minded’ people to join and burn the Indian Constitution, report said.
22-Jan-2020
The High Commissioner of India in London Ruchi Ghanshyam, in a call with the Home Secretary of UK Priti Patel, expressed concerns over the planned protest outside the High Commission of India (HCI) in which Indian Constitution is supposed to be burnt on the day India celebrates its Republic Day on January 26. Indian diaspora in UK too requested to various UK authorities to ban the protest.
20-Jan-2020
The World Sikh Parliament (WSP) announced that they will support the anti-India protest being organised by the Tehreek-e-Kashmir (TeK) UK chapter on the occasion of India’s Republic Day on January 26, outside the Indian High Commission in London. The WSP spokesperson, Ranjeet Singh declared that “We are with the people of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) who have been incarcerated by the government of India since August 5, 2019. In this situation we will join the TeK UK’s anti-India protest in front of the IHC in London.” Earlier, TeK announced the protest outside Indian High Commission in London and to observe the Republic Day as ‘Black Day’ across the world.
19-Jan-2020
A UK based NGO, the Sikh Federation UK (SFUK), is joining forces with around 200 Sikh representatives from more than 20 countries to lobby the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for a “Rwanda-style” international tribunal to investigate crimes during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The chairman of SFUK, Bhai Amrik Singh said that ““Our experiences from the last 35 years and this latest report [Justice SN Dhingra Committee Report] shows the police, politicians, and judiciary in India are corrupt to the core and the wheels of justice hardly turn. It is therefore impossible to secure justice within the Indian system. We are confident in securing the support of the majority of the five members of the UN Security Council. It is the entire Indian machinery that must be put on trial in an international arena.”
17-Jan-2020
According to sources, Indian diplomats and British Indians fear violence and damage to the Indian high commission building in London when up to 5,000 protesters are expected to protest outside it on Republic Day on January 26. The protest named as “Rise for Kashmir” will take place outside the Indian high commission on January 26 from 1 pm to 3 pm. According to the president of Tehreek-e-Kashmir UK, Fahim Kayani, Tehreek-e-Kashmir UK, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) and the World Sikh Parliament are the organizers of the protest. However, the British Indians has sent emails to the Metropolitan police and London mayor Sadiq Khan expressing concerns about the security of the mission building and asking for the protest to be moved.
03-Sep-2019
Two persons were arrested on September 4 after Pakistani diaspora along with Khalistanis launched a massive protest outside the Indian High Commission in London on September 3 and broke a window pane, drawing widespread condemnation. UK's metropolitan police in a statement said that “there were two arrests for criminal damage at yesterday’s event outside the Indian High Commission”.
20-Aug-2019
Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed to Boris Johnson, his counterpart in the United Kingdom, about New Delhi's displeasure over recent “vandalism and violence” by a large number of Pakistani protesters in front of the Indian High Commission in London.
15-Aug-2019
Violent protest took place outside Indian High Commission in London when protesters carrying ‘Khalistani’ and Kashmiri flags tried to push across the Police line and threw objects targeting Indian Diaspora. The Indian Diaspora was celebrating the Independence Day on August 15. The violent protesters had arrived in London from Birmingham and Nottingham.
15-Aug-2019
According to reports, amid escalating tension between New Delhi and Islamabad British Sikh Association chairman Rami Ranger stated that there will be no investment in Pakistan by the Punjabi diaspora in UK “until relationships between New Delhi (India) and Islamabad (Pakistan) becomes cordial. The relations between the two countries have hit a low with Pakistan downgrading its ties with India after latter scrapped Jammu and Kashmir’s special status earlier this month. In January this year, British Sikh Association had signed a memorandum with Pakistani multinational conglomerate Hashoo Group for development of infrastructure on the Kartarpur Corridor. Ranger had signed the MoU on behalf of British Sikh Association in United Kingdom.
09-Jul-2019
A group of Sikh protesters sporting with "Punjab Referendum 2020" T-shirts and chanting pro-Khalistan slogans were evicted from the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester in United Kingdom (UK) during the World Cup Cricket semi-final match between India and New Zealand. Greater Manchester Police arrested the two of them who were causing disruption and later released.
03-Jul-2019
The UK counter-terrorism Police arrested two British Sikhs in connection with ongoing investigations into ‘allegations of extremist activity in India and fraud offences’ in Birmingham. The arrested individuals were identified as 38-year-old Deepa Singh, who runs the group Sikh Youth UK (SYUK), and a 49-year-old female relative of his.However, the two arrestees were released on bail and will either be charged within 28 days or released pending further investigations.
10-Oct-2018
The British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith said the British Security agencies are investigating the pro-Khalistan activities in regards to the pro-Khalistan campaign held in August 2018 at London’s Trafalgar Square. As the part of investigation conducted by the West Midlands Counterterrorism Unit (WMCU), the British Security agencies searched several properties on September 18 in connection with the allegations of the terrorist offences in the UK, including the activities in relation to Khalistan campaign in India, said Asquith. However, the investigation conducted by WMCU is not directed by either the UK government or the Indian government.
17-Apr-2018
A day ahead of Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s visit to the UK, a video surfaced online featuring ‘most-wanted’ Khalistani terrorist Paramjit Singh Pamma leading a campaign and preaching hate speech against the Indian PM Narendra Modi and Mahatma Gandhi in London, UK, on April 17. In the video, Pamma was surrounded by his associates holding anti-India protest, without any intervention from the UK’s law enforcement agencies.
16-Feb-2014
The UK in its consolidated list of organizations involved in terror activities or terror financing brought out on February 14, 2014, has named ISYF, HM, Babbar Khalsa and Khalistan Zindabad as organizations that require total financial sanctions.