KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR

The Pakistani government has permitted the publication of religious books for students from Sikh and Christian minority communities under the supervision of the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (PMTA). Anjum James Paul, the chairman of (PMTA), said that it will help minority students to learn about their religion in schools. However, minority groups, including Hindus, Buddhists, Parsees, Kalash, and Baha’is, are still not permitted to print their religious textbooks in Pakistan.

According to a Pakistan government notification released on March 1, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has appointed Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora as the Ambassador-at-Large for Kartarpur Corridor as part of efforts to draw Sikh pilgrims from all over the world.

The Pakistani media on February 24 highlighted how supporters of pro-Khalistan Sikh leader Amritpal Singh 'staged a large demonstration in Amritsar on February 23 and put the Indian Punjab Police on the back foot'. Also, it mentioned, "the demand for Khalistan by Sikhs in Indian Punjab is gathering pace."

According to reports in Pakistan, the gold-plated kalash that used to rest atop the dome of the Palki Sahib (palanquin) installed at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartapur Sahib, in Pakistan, has gone missing, leading to suspicion that it had been stolen from the Sikh shrine.

Jagmeet Singh, the leader of Canada's New Democratic Party, received backlash on Twitter for expressing concern about the Punjab police's extensive crackdown in the state and subsequent suspension of the internet to arrest Khalistan sympathizer Amritpal Singh. Singh appealed to Canadian Prime Minister (PM) Justin Trudeau to intervene in the situation through his tweets. However, some social media users criticized him for openly supporting a terrorist.

The Indian High Commissioner in Canada was forced to postpone an event in British Columbia when Khalistan supporters who protested Punjab police’s crackdown against Amritpal Singh blocked the venue's entrance on March 19. India’s High Commissioner to Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma was scheduled to attend a reception organised by the Friends of India & Canada Foundation in Surrey, British Columbia. Prior to the scheduled start time, around 200 protesters, some carrying swords, gathered in front of the Taj Park Convention Centre, preventing the event from proceeding. In response, Maninder Gill, the Foundation's president, expressed his disappointment, stating that "it is a shame if even the High Commissioner cannot be safeguarded in this country."

Khalistan supporters on February 20 gathered outside the consulate in Vancouver, Canada, and raised Khalistan flags, demanding the release of Sikhs imprisoned in India.

Canadian ministers criticized the vandalism of Shri Ram Mandir in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) of Mississauga that happened on February 14. This was the fourth such incident in eight months duration where pro-Khalistan graffiti was spray-painted the walls of the temple. Meanwhile, Canada’s defence minister Anita Anand on February 15 tweeted on this incident that, “Freedom of religion is a fundamental tenet of our democracy.” Earlier in the day, foreign minister Melanie Joly had also condemned the episode.

The British Conservative MP (Member of Parliament), Bob Blackman on March 20 expressed that the majority of Sikhs living in the United Kingdom (UK) ‘totally reject’ the Khalistani project. He further urged the police to handle separatist groups in the UK effectively. He said, “This is a very small, ultra-small section of the Sikh community. The vast majority of Sikhs in this country absolutely reject the Khalistani project... It's not going to happen as we know...My message is very simple to the police, when this happens, those people need to be arrested & dealt with properly.”

After pro-Khalistani protestors pulled down India's national flag on March 19, the Indian High Commission in London responded by hoisting an even larger tricolour flag in the building. The officials from the Indian High Commission stated that the attack was unsuccessful, and the new tricolour flag was now flying with even greater grandeur.

United Kingdom (UK) based pro-Khalistan activist, Avtar Singh Khanda was arrested for pulling down the Indian flag at the Embassy in London on March 19. According to sources, Avtar Singh Khanda is the son of Kulwant Singh Khukrana who was a terrorist of the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF).

Khalistani supporters pulled down the Indian national flag flying atop the Indian High Commission building in London on March 19. While chanting pro-Khalistani slogans and holding Khalistani flags, the protesting group also caused damage to the High Commission building's window. However, no injuries were reported in the incident. Following the event, a man was taken into custody on suspicion of initiating the violent act.

Indian Americans strongly condemned the attack and demanded that those responsible for it be brought to justice right away. The Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) remarked, "We are outraged by the entire breakdown of law and order in both London and San Francisco when a few radicalized separatists stormed India's diplomatic offices.”

A group of pro-Khalistan protesters on March 19 attacked and damaged the Indian Consulate in San Francisco, United States (US). As per accounts, the protesters forcefully breached the temporary security barriers that had been erected by the city police and placed two ‘Khalistani’ flags inside the premises of the Indian Consulate in San Francisco. The flags were promptly removed by two consulates. Subsequently, a group of angry protesters invaded the consulate's grounds, chanted pro-Khalistan slogans, and vandalized the doors and windows using iron rods. The group also reportedly spray-painted a call to ‘free Amritpal’ on the outer wall of the Indian Consulate. Ajay Bhutoria, a community leader, denounced the attack and stated that this violent act not only poses a threat to the diplomatic ties between the US and India but also disrupts the peace and harmony within the community.

The United States Department of State Spokesperson, Ned Price on March 8 condemned terrorism in all of its forms including those who resort to violence to achieve their ends, whether they are political or otherwise. When asked about Khalistani activists that are active in North America, he said, "So we condemn terrorism in all of its forms. We condemn terrorism; we condemn violent extremism. We condemn all of those who resort to violence to achieve their ends, whether they are political or otherwise. There is never a justification to resort to violence. Regardless of the motivation, regardless of the perpetrator, we take the threat of terrorism around the world, whether that's to regional peace and security or to our own security."

According to media reports, A 60-year-old Indian-origin Sikh man, identified as Rajvir Raj Singh Gill, a former Bakersfield City Council candidate, was arrested on March 4 in the United States (US) for allegedly attempting to hire people to shoot multiple people and burn down the property of Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Ji Khalsa Darbart in California, US.

The police department of Victoria, Australia on March 20 released the photographs of six men, suspected to be involved in the January 29 "Punjab independence referendum" event organized in Melbourne which ended up in fights between Khalistani activists and pro-India demonstrators. Two persons were injured in the violent incident where an Indian flag was also burnt by a group of men at the event. The police department has also requested assistance from the public in investigating the violent incident that occurred at the Khalistan Referendum in Federation Square.

Khalistan supporters gathered outside the parliament building in Canberra, Australia to protest against the Indian police’s crackdown on Khalistani preacher Amritpal Singh and his associates in Punjab.

Pro-Khalistan outfit, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) reportedly organized a ‘Khalistan Referendum 2020’ in Brisbane, Australia on March 19. However, the turnout for the event was reportedly low, with only about 100 attendees present. The editor of Australia Today, Jai Bharadwaj, stated that the organizers originally intended for the event to run from 9 am to 5 pm, but closed it down at 4 pm due to lack of attendance. Even, the majority of gurudwaras turned down the requests for assistance from the referendum organizers.

According to reports, the Pakistani media is openly campaigning for the second phase of ‘Khalistan Referendum’ which is going to take place at the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre in Australia on March 19. The pro-Khalistan separatist group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) is purportedly organizing the voting. An article in Radio Pakistan published on March 18, claimed that more than 50,000 Sikhs cast their ballots in favor of the Khalistan Referendum during the initial round of voting in Melbourne at the end of January 2023.