AGL 40.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.16 (-0.4%)
AIRLINK 129.53 Decreased By ▼ -2.20 (-1.67%)
BOP 6.68 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.15%)
CNERGY 4.63 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (3.58%)
DCL 8.94 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.36%)
DFML 41.69 Increased By ▲ 1.08 (2.66%)
DGKC 83.77 Decreased By ▼ -0.31 (-0.37%)
FCCL 32.77 Increased By ▲ 0.43 (1.33%)
FFBL 75.47 Increased By ▲ 6.86 (10%)
FFL 11.47 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.06%)
HUBC 110.55 Decreased By ▼ -1.21 (-1.08%)
HUMNL 14.56 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (1.75%)
KEL 5.39 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (3.26%)
KOSM 8.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-6.46%)
MLCF 39.79 Increased By ▲ 0.36 (0.91%)
NBP 60.29 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
OGDC 199.66 Increased By ▲ 4.72 (2.42%)
PAEL 26.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.15%)
PIBTL 7.66 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (2.41%)
PPL 157.92 Increased By ▲ 2.15 (1.38%)
PRL 26.73 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.19%)
PTC 18.46 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (0.87%)
SEARL 82.44 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-0.7%)
TELE 8.31 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.97%)
TOMCL 34.51 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.12%)
TPLP 9.06 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (2.84%)
TREET 17.47 Increased By ▲ 0.77 (4.61%)
TRG 61.32 Decreased By ▼ -1.13 (-1.81%)
UNITY 27.43 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.04%)
WTL 1.38 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (7.81%)
BR100 10,407 Increased By 220 (2.16%)
BR30 31,713 Increased By 377.1 (1.2%)
KSE100 97,328 Increased By 1781.9 (1.86%)
KSE30 30,192 Increased By 614.4 (2.08%)
World

India confiscates properties of top Sikh separatist

NEW DELHI: India’s top investigation agency confiscated Saturday the properties of a prominent Sikh separatist and...
Published September 23, 2023
Photo: tribuneindia.com
Photo: tribuneindia.com

NEW DELHI: India's top investigation agency confiscated Saturday the properties of a prominent Sikh separatist and close ally of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whose killing has sparked a diplomatic row between India and Canada.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a lawyer believed to be based in Canada, was designated as a terrorist by Indian authorities in 2020 and is wanted on charges of terrorism and sedition.

He is also the founder of the US-based group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), whose Canada chapter was headed by Nijjar before he was gunned down by masked assailants in June near Vancouver.

The group, which has been banned by India, has been a vocal advocate for the creation of an independent Sikh homeland called Khalistan.

A diplomatic firestorm erupted this week with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying there were "credible reasons to believe that agents of the government of India were involved" in Nijjar's death.

New Delhi dismissed Trudeau's allegations as "absurd", tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions followed, and India has stopped processing visa applications by Canadians.

Pannun jumped into the raging row and issued a video telling Canadian Hindus to "go back to India", claiming they had adopted a "jingoistic approach" by siding with New Delhi.

In an interview with an Indian news channel, Pannun said Nijjar had been his "close associate" for over 20 years and was like a "younger brother" to him. He also blamed India for Nijjar's killing.

'Heinous crimes'

Soon after his interview was aired, the Indian government issued an advisory to news networks asking them to refrain from giving a platform to people accused of "heinous crimes".

Armed with court orders, officials of India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday confiscated Pannun's house in Chandigarh, the capital of the Sikh-majority state of Punjab, it said in a statement.

The NIA also confiscated agricultural land belonging to him in Amritsar, it added.

It accused Pannun of "actively exhorting Punjab-based gangsters and youth" on social media "to fight for the cause of independent state of Khalistan, challenging the sovereignty, integrity and security of the country".

Sikhism is a minority religion originating in northern India that traces its roots back to the 15th century and drew influences from both Hinduism and Islam.

The Khalistan campaign was largely considered a benign fringe movement until the early 1980s, when a charismatic Sikh fundamentalist launched a violent separatist insurgency.

It culminated with Indian forces storming the Golden Temple, the faith's holiest shrine in Amritsar, where separatists had barricaded themselves.

India's prime minister Indira Gandhi was subsequently assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards.

The insurgency was eventually brought under control and the Khalistan movement's most vocal advocates are now among the large Sikh diaspora, particularly in Canada, Britain and Australia.

But memories of the violence -- in which thousands died -- still haunt India, which has outlawed the Khalistan movement and listed several associated groups as "terrorist organisations".

Comments

Comments are closed.