Khalistan-Pak link out in open again: Chawla’s presence at Kartarpur says it all

New Delhi, Nov 28: On the sidelines of ceremony to launch the Kartarpur Corridor, a pro-Khalistan leader was filmed standing besides the Pakistan Army chief.

Gopal Singh Chawla, the pro-khalistan leader was seen standing beside General Qamar Bajwa, who also greeted him warmly. The event was also attended by Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Punjab Minister, Navjot Singh Sidhu.

Chawla has been in the news of late, with Pakistan and the Khalistan groups trying to up the ante for a separate Punjab nation. The name of Chawla had also cropped up during a recent investigation.

The police said that Javed Khan Wazir, who is a Pakistan intelligence officer contacted one Shabnamdeep from Pakistan in July. He was also introduced to a Pakistani Sikh named Gopal Singh Chawla, former general secretary of the Pakistani Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.
Shabnamdeep was tasked with targeted killings and was also promised a sum of Rs 10 lakh per killing, investigations had revealed.

The name of Chawla had cropped up again last week. This time it was due to a huge row between India and Pakistan over the former's diplomats being stopped from entering the religious places. It was found that the diplomats were not stopped by the Pakistan security officials, but Chawla, who is also said to be close to Lashkar-e-Tayiba boss, Hafiz Saeed.

There has been a debate over the decision regarding Kartarpur. The biggest worry for the Indian agencies is that the decision came at a time, when Pakistan allowed campaigners of the Referendum 2020 to open an office in Lahore.

A letter released by the legal advisor for SJF, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun states that the pro-Khalistan advocacy group, Sikhs for Justice said that several 100s of its campaigners have reached Pakistan to coordinate the Referendum 2020 campaign in the Nanjana Sahib during the ongoing 549th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Devji.

The letter further said Referendum 2020 banners and Khalistan flags with the life size portrait of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale have been placed throughout the Nankana Sahib complex.

"SJF will initiate the registration of votes of Referendum 2020 during the next years scheduled 550th birth celebrations at Kartarpur Sahib. A permanent office of he SJF will be established in Lahore to coordinate the registration of Referendum votes.

The worry for the agencies is that the ISI would try and propagate among the pilgrims the need for a pro Khalistan movement. The ISI would also look to evoke sentiments, the agencies believe. The agencies also feel that the ISI and its agents would go all out to whip up passions. This becomes necessary for both the ISI and pro-Khalistan groups as the movement has failed to generate any great mass support. While on one hand, the ISI could build a terror infrastructure, they realise that no movement would take off as desired unless and until there is mass support and sympathy among the people. In this context, all efforts would be made to utilise the pilgrimage to Pakistan, an Intelligence Bureau officer informed OneIndia.