West's dubious stand on Khalistan is worrisome for India

The Narendra Modi government has been urging countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada to act against these forces

New Delhi, July 25: The complete reluctance by the western countries to act against pro-Khalistan outfits such as the Sikhs for Justice (SJF) has perturbed the Indian agencies. Officials say that the very fact that the pro-Khalistan groups are getting more dangerous by the day and the reality that the west is refusing to act is disturbing on several levels.

The Narendra Modi government has been urging countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada to act against these forces. New Delhi had in April taken strong exception to the UK allowing a referendum by the Khalistan forces.

The Khalistan groups such as the SJF, Khalistan Zindabad Force among others have been responsible for numerous acts of terror in India. They have been involved in carrying out terror attacks in Punjab and also targeting Hindus in Punjab.

Last week the National Investigation Agency (NIA) announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh for information on terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in connection with the murder of a Hindu priest.

Nijjar the head of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) is currently residing in Canada and he had overseen the murder of the Hindu priest in Jalandhar in January last year. The murder of Ripudaman Malik, the man acquitted in the 1985 Air India Bombing case, has once again raised concerns of the extent of Sikh radicalisation that exists in Canada. An Intelligence Bureau official tells OneIndia that India hopes that the Canadian police realises the extent of the problem. "Fortunately they are cooperating with us now post the murder of Malik and have taken seriously the concerns we have been raising about these elements for years," the official said.

Malik the founder of the Khalsa Credit Union and Khalsa Schools was accused of playing a role in the bombing in 1985 that claimed the lives of 239 passengers and crew members of the ill-fated airline. The agencies suspect that Malik may have been killed on the instructions of Nijjar.

This incident also brings in focus the free run that the SJF boss, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, has been having. The SJF is a propaganda wing and has been instrumental in spreading hate against India and also backing the revival of the Khalistan movement.

The concerns about Pannun have been raised several times in the past. He runs a network across Canada, the UK, the United States, Australia, Germany and Malaysia. The official cited above said that since the US Department of Treasury's Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had denied SJF tax exemption status, Pannun changed the nomenclature of the SJF and made it 'Sikhs for Justice International'. Following this he got it registered with the IRS on April 15, 2019 as a public charity.

The UK is another country of concern. Recently thousands of protesters gathered outside the Indian High Commission and displayed Khalistan flags. Paramjeet Panna, closely associated with the ISI-funded Sikhs For Justice and members of the Sikh Federation, UK, which is associated with the Khalistan movement were part of the protests.

In this context one must also look at the SJF's Malaysia link. Paras Rajput emerged on the radar of the agencies following the arrest of Harwinder Singh on July 19 in Punjab on the charge that he was running a pro-Khalistan campaign. He told the police that he came in contact with Paras in Malaysia who in turn motivated him to take up the Khalistan cause.

Another pro-Khalistani who is residing in Malaysia is Jagjit Singh Gandhi alias Dehlon. In Germany the pro-Khalistan agenda is undertaken by Wadhwa Singh of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI).

Officials say that there is an urgent need to rein in these elements. The west keeping quiet about it will only end up hurting them soon. Pannun is the man they need to rein in first. He provoked the farmers during the agitation against the farm laws. He also tried and arranged a safe passage for the killers of Siddhu Mooesewala.

"We have not found success as yet, but we will continue to raise these issues with the governments of Canada, UK and Germany," the official cited above said.