Extremism Updates

06-Jun-2020

The pro-Khalistani Sikhs in Pakistan converged at Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, the birth place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev,. They extended support to the separatist movement for a Sikh state -Khalistan in India and protested to mark the 36th anniversary of Operation Bluestar. According to sources, prominently among those who were present on the occasion were Pakistan's main Sikh face for such occasions Gopal Singh Chawla, former Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) president Bishan Singh and PSGPC general secretary Amir Singh. Sources said that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had organised the function and ensured its media coverage, besides it had also assigned duties to the officials of Evacuee Trust Property Board (EPTB) to facilitate the anti-India demonstration. In a video uploaded on social media, Chawla and Bishan were seen raising slogans against India and in praise of Khalistan. However, PSGPC president Satwant Singh was not seen during anti-India protests at Nankana Sahib. In an attempt to foment the anti-India sentiments, Chawla and Bishan spewed venom against India, and to win over the sympathy of Islamist militant organisations, they raised the issue of Kashmir too.


06-Jun-2020

According to reports, no Sikhs converged at Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib on the call given by US-based pro-Khalistani group, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ). Sources said that "We have information that attempts are being made to allure poor Paksitani Sikhs with cash rewards for protesting against India. However, none reached Kartarpur Sahib on Saturday morning". The presence of several Sikh youth and some unknown faces during Saturday's protest only confirmed their belief that these were being paid to stage demonstration and raise slogans against India, they claimed.


05-Jun-2020

The US-based Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) leader, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in a message to Sikhs of Pakistan appealed to them to converge at Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib on June 6 to perform ardas and also raise slogans for Khalistan. He said that Sikh for Justice (SFJ) would be holding a conference on June 6 to update Sikh community regarding their divisive ‘Referendum 2020’. However, the president of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC), Satwant Singh didn’t comment on Pannun’s call to Sikhs of Pakistan. However, sources didn’t rule out the possibility of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) facilitating a video conference between Sikh militants of Pakistan and those abroad. “There is likelihood of forging of new ties especially SFJ exhorting Pakistani Sikhs to hold anti-India protest at Kartarpur and we are of view that Pakistan’s Khalistani leader Gopal Singh Chawla will be playing a key role,” said sources.


04-Jun-2020

The Jammu and Kashmir Youth Social Forum (JKYSF) leader, Angad Singh paid tributes to all Sikh leaders and Sikh Sangat pilgrims who were killed in Indian Army’s Operation Blue Star in Golden temple in June 1984, in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). He said that “We in Kashmir remember this day as black day. Also, this day is a proof of Sikh and Muslim brotherhood right from Kashmir to Punjab and all over the world.”


06-May-2020

The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) in Pakistan is now in action to expel the pro-Khalistan leader Gopal Singh Chawla from the ‘Punjabi Sikh Sangat’. Earlier, he was also expelled from the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC). Notably, the ETPB had constituted ‘Punjabi Sikh Sangat’ to look after the religious activities in the Sikh shrines of Pakistan and Gopal Singh Chawla was appointed as a chairman of this body. According to report, the ETPB has started cornering Gopal Singh Chawla after he illegally occupied a piece of land managed by ETPB. An FIR was registered against Gopal Singh Chawla under sections 447/511 in Nankana Sahib police station on the complaint of revenue officer Asif Chadar. Sources also revealed that Gopal Singh Chawla might resign from the chairmanship of ‘Punjabi Sikh Sangat’ on May 7. It has also come to fore that the ETPB has not even credited Gopal Singh Chawla’s monthly salary worth Rupees 30,000.


06-May-2020

The Pak-based pro-Khalistan leader Gopal Singh Chawla accused that the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) officials are going to remove him from the chairmanship of “Punjabi Sikh Sangat” under a conspiracy.


18-Apr-2020

Domes of the newly renovated Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara was collapsed due to a thunderstorm and high-speed winds in the area of the holy site's location in Punjab in Pakistan. According to reports, the domes were allegedly not even constructed with cement and iron but with plaster-of-paris material. After the embarrassing incident, the Sikh community has expressed disappointment with the way construction was done in Pakistan


13-Apr-2020

Pakistan extended the duration of the closure of the Wagah border and the Kartarpur Corridor along the International Border with India for two weeks amid the Coronavirus pandemic. The Kartarpur Corridor will be sealed till April 24 while the Wagah crossing will be closed from April 16 to April 29.


09-Apr-2020

The Pakistan government asked Afghanistan to hand over the recently arrested Islamic State terrorist, responsible for the deadly terror attack on Sikh Gurudwara in Kabul to Pakistan. According to the sources, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the ambassador of Afghanistan to Pakistan, asking for Aslam Farooqi's custody. Afghan security forces on April 5 had arrested Farooqi involved in the massacre of around 27 Sikhs in a terror attack on a Gurudwara in Kabul on March 25. As per an official statement, Islamabad sought Farooqi's custody for investigation because he is allegedly involved in anti-Pakistan activities in Afghanistan.


07-Apr-2020

Sikh community in Pakistan has shut down Gurdwaras in Swat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province after the provincial government banned gathering of more than five people for worship in religious places to stop the spread of the coronavirus which has infected nearly 4,000 people and killed 55 in the country.


07-Apr-2020

Pakistan’s Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) deputy secretary shrines, Imran Gondal said that a meeting of the ETPB and the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbadhank Committee (PSGPC) unanimously decided that there would be no Baisakhi celebrations at the shrine in Hassanabdal city this year and the scheduled visits of Sikh pilgrims has been cancelled. The Baisakhi celebrations scheduled to begin on April 14 at Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Punjab province, in which 3,000 Sikhs from India and 2,000 from elsewhere were to participate.


06-Apr-2020

Pakistani authorities cancelled the Baisakhi celebrations at Gurudwara Panja Sahib in Punjab province from April 14, in which around 3,000 Sikhs from India were to participate, due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country.


31-Mar-2020

A mob of Islamist radicals attacked the Sikh Gurudwara in Nankana Sahib (in Punjab, Pakistan) to avenge the arrest of a Muslim man who had kidnapped and converted a Sikh girl to Islam. The crowd gathered in front of the main entrance of the Nankana Sahib Gurudwara and pelted stones at the Gurudwara in the evening. The extremists also threatened to eliminate every single Sikh faithful from the city and announced that they have renamed the location with an Islamic name.


30-Mar-2020

Pakistani pro-Khalistan leader Gopal Singh Chawla said that land in Nankana Sahib belonging to Guru Nanak Dev was being grabbed by the rich by paying money and there was collusion by Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) of Pakistan. Chawla in a video said that atrocities were being committed and complaints about the misuse of land, registered in the name Guru Nanak Dev in Pakistan's Punjab province, have fallen on deaf ears of authorities. He said that ETPB of Pakistan has been aiding and shielding rich people who have encroached the land of Gurudwara Nankana Sahib. Chawla alleged that ETPB chairman Aamer Ahmed has been colluding with the land grabbers. "I had made a humble request that in Nankana Sahib there is full loot (of land) and I had given proof to Aamer sahib that a lot of atrocities are taking place. Rich people who can give Rs 2 lakh, Rs 3 lakh, Rs 4 lakh, Rs 5 lakh, they are getting their houses made and the poor who have to build on two marla, three marla, there is no law for them," he said.


23-Mar-2020

The Border Security Force (BSF) recovered 4.27 kg of heroin from an area close to the border outpost Bareke along the India-Pakistan border in Ferozepur district. According to officials, the consignment was stored in four plastic bottles and a China-made pistol was also seized along with the contraband.


14-Mar-2020

The Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) released its “original version” of Nanakshahi calendar, which was introduced in 2003, at Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib in Pakistan. The PSGPC president Satwant Singh said that, “The original version of the calendar symbolises distinct identity of the Sikhs. We request Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh to ensure unity in the Panth, which is divided over the calendar issue. The calendar implemented in 2003 by the then Jathedar Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti should be followed for this purpose.”


13-Mar-2020

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan held a high-level meeting of the National Security Committee and announced series of measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, including a ban on Pakistani nationals from travelling via the Kartarpur Corridor. Indian pilgrims will, however, be allowed to use the corridor.


08-Mar-2020

Parliamentarian Preneet Kaur paid obeisance at Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara in Pakistan along with more than hundred women on the occasion of International Women’s Day. Preneet Kaur said that Guru Nanak Sahib gave a great status to women in the society which resulted in their empowerment and high respect.


02-Mar-2020

Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sahibzada Noor-ul-Haq Qadri stated that the work on Kartarpur corridor project phase II would be started soon. The minister, while chairing a ministerial meeting to contemplate the approval of PC1 of Kartarpur project, said that in the second phase hotel and market would be constructed to meet the requirements of international tourism.


01-Mar-2020

According to Indian intelligence sources, the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) and its parent body Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) recently honoured pro-Khalistan Sikh leader Gopal Singh Chawla in Pakistan. The sources said that the move showed that Chawla was still an integral part of PSGPC and ETPB, as he was still being honoured by the two bodies. Earlier, Chawla, who is the chairman of Punjabi Sikh Sangat in Pakistan, was removed from PSGPC in 2019, after India had exerted pressure on Pakistan over his links with 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed. The move had come as India had refused to sign the agreement on Kartarpur corridor if Chawla continued to be a member of the committee. However, the intelligence source informed that since ISI-controlled ETPB used Chawla for instigating Sikhs and holding anti-India demonstrations in Pakistan, his removal from the two bodies was just a cosmetic change. “But he has always been present during important events at Gurdwara Nankana Sahib. He has also been allotted a room at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib complex, Kartapur Sahib,” said the source.


24-Feb-2020

The Akal Takht acting Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh said that Pakistan is a safe country and maximum Sikhs from India should visit all historic Gurudwaras there. The Jathedar, in a video shared by Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) president Satwant Singh, said “Historic gurudwaras hold big importance for Sikhs. ‘Darshan-didar’ of these gurudwaras has given me immense pleasure and peace of mind. I have no word to recognize the love shown by Pakistan’s sangat and common people towards me. Not only me, locals also share warm vibes with every person coming from India here.”“People of both India and Pakistan don’t need to fear visiting each other’s country. Pakistanis are loved by people in India,” he said.


21-Feb-2020

Akal Takht acting Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh, during a religious function (Saka Nankana Sahib) at Nankana Sahib in Pakistan, demanded that the governments of India and Pakistan waive the condition of passport for Indian pilgrims visiting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan through the Kartarpur Corridor. He said the condition of carrying passport as identity proof is the main reason behind the low turnout of Indian pilgrims at the Kartarpur shrine, the last resting place of Guru Nanak. He also met family members of Jagjit Kaur, who was allegedly converted to Islam forcibly and married to a Muslim man in Nankana Sahib.


19-Feb-2020

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh left for Pakistan to take part in a religious function - Saka Nankana (Nankana massacre) - at the Nankana Sahib on February 21. He crossed over to Pakistan from Attari-Wagah border. He said that “I am going to Pakistan to observe anniversary function of 100 years old event to liberate Nankana Sahib. There are total 13 members in delegation. Martyrdom anniversary is being commemorated by the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC).”


18-Feb-2020

United Nations (UN) chief Antonio Guterres, during his visit to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, said that the opening of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor is a practical example of Pakistan's desire for peace and inter-faith harmony. He said the opening of the corridor is a good step and it will promote tolerance and interfaith harmony. The UN chief appreciated the facilities being provided to Sikh pilgrims at the complex.


10-Feb-2020

The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur next week during a trip to Pakistan, his Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said. Kartarpur will be on the itinerary of Guterres''s visit to Pakistan to participate in an international conference on that country hosting Afghan refugees for 40 years, Haq said. Meanwhile, Rajwant Singh, the co-founder of the National Sikh Campaign, said that "The Secretary-General''s visit to the shrine will amplify Guru Nanak Dev''s message for peaceful coexistence of all religions and signal to the entire world that Kartarpur is internationally a very sacred place."


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31-Jul-2013

Three Sikh extremists, Mandeep Singh Sandhu, Dilbag Singh, and Harjit Kaur were convicted in the UK of carrying out the life-threatening attack on Lieutenant General (retired) Kuldip Singh Brar on September 30, 2012. Another suspect, Barjinder Singh Sangha, has already pleaded guilty. The Crown Prosecution Service in a statement said the three "were convicted at Southwark Crown Court for grievous bodily harm on retired Indian Army officer, LG Kuldeep Singh Brar, aged 78. The attack took place whilst he was on holiday in London with his wife on September 30, 2012."


15-Jul-2013

The trial of two Sikh men and a woman accused of stabbing Lieutenant General (retired) K. S. Brar opened in London (UK). Mandeep Singh Sandhu, Dilbagh Singh, and Harjit Kaur pleaded not guilty to the charge of "unlawful wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm" to the attack, which took place on September 30, 2012, and are up for trial at Southwark Crown Court. The fourth key accused, 33-year-old Barjinder Singh Sangha, had pleaded guilty to the charge of "unlawful wounding" and will be sentenced at the end of the trial.


22-Nov-2012

Dilbag Singh, who was arrested in London, has been charged in connection with an assassination attempt on Lieutenant General (retired) Kuldip Singh Brar.


06-Oct-2012

Scotland Yard released nine persons on bail in London who were arrested in connection with the attack on Lieutenant General (retired) Kuldeep Singh Brar. Three men will remain in custody. An extensive fundraising campaign is being undertaken by secessionist Sikh groups in Europe and North America at the instance of Pakistan's ISI to revive terrorism in Punjab. Sources in security agencies have informed about the movement of banned BKI, KCF, ISYF terror groups in western countries to radicalize Sikh youth by showing them doctored footage of Operation Blue Star and other propaganda materials. NIA sources confirmed that BKI still has a large network of sleeper cells across Punjab.


30-Sep-2012

Lt General (Retired) KS Brar, who led the Operation Blue Star in 1984, was attacked and injured in London. He was stabbed by four men outside a hotel. He received minor injuries and was taken to hospital.


19-Apr-2001

The BKI has dissolved its UK wing following the ban imposed by the British Government on 21 different terrorist organizations, including the ISYF. It was dissolved by Avtar Singh Sanghera, vice-president, BKI. He, however, said the outfit had submitted a memorandum to Jack Straw, British Home Secretary, for lifting the ban. He alleged the ban was imposed at the behest of the Indian Government as both the organizations had wings all over the world.


23-Dec-1991

An 11-member delegation of the Panthic Committee and Khalistan Council, led by Dr. Chauhan, met with former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar in London. They offered to hold talks with someone who could resolve the Punjab issue. The delegation claimed to represent Dal Khalsa, Akali Dal, and Khalsa Lehar.


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