KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
India 01-Jan-2020
One person, identified as Bhalwan Singh was arrested along with five kilograms of heroin and two pistols and 10 live cartridges at the Amritsar-Jalandhar national highway in Amritsar. The accused was produced in a local court which sent him to police remand till January 6.
India 01-Jan-2020
The Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab, Dinkar Gupta in an interview said that “We have been fortunate that 2019 has gone without any terror crime.” However, he cautioned that “It is difficult to say what the future holds for us, but when you are dealing with a neighbour like Pakistan, there will be attempts to foment trouble in Punjab. So, we have to be always vigilant.” He also said that “the SFJ tirade, however, has no resonance in Punjab. Some see it as a bogey created by security agencies.”
India 01-Jan-2020
Regarding the “Referendum2020” campaign the DGP, Dinkar Gupta said, “It has no takers here. SFJ has been banned by the government of India and its chief protagonist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has been declared proclaimed offender in a few cases. The only worrying part is that they are beguiling and trying to provoke the youth to commit violence which is not a good sign. It vitiates the peace.”
India 02-Jan-2020
The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) criticized Pakistan’s decision to deny entry to non-Sikh visitors to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan, for three days in January. Earlier Pakistan has decided not to allow the entry of non-Sikhs to the shrine, from January 3 to January 5, during the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Gobind Singh who is the tenth and last of the Sikh Gurus.
Pakistan 03-Jan-2020
An angry mob of Muslim residents of Nankana Sahib stormed Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, the birth place of Sikh’s first master Guru Nanak Dev in Pakistan. According to reports, local Muslim protesters were resentful of Sikhs’ opposition to the alleged ‘forced’ conversion of a Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur to Islam and her marriage to a Muslim boy.
India 03-Jan-2020
India strongly condemned the attack at Nankana Sahib Gurudwara in Pakistan and asked Pakistan Government to take "immediate steps" to ensure the safety, security and welfare of members of the Sikh community.
India 03-Jan-2020
Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh appealed to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for his immediate intervention to ensure the safety of devotees stranded in Gurdwara Nankana Sahib. He also asked Imran Khan to save the historic Gurdwara from the angry mob.
India 04-Jan-2020
Sukhbir Badal, chief of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) met the family of Khalistani terrorist Balwant Singh Rajoana, a convict in 1995 assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh and said he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the issue. After meeting Balwant Singh Rajoana's sister Kamaldeep Kaur at her Ludhiana home, he said that “Rajoana's death sentence ‘should be cancelled’.... Not even a single parole has been allowed to him in past 25 years... This is injustice. His death sentence should be cancelled because it is a serious matter related to the Sikh community”.
Pakistan 04-Jan-2020
Pro-Khalistan leader Gopal Singh Chawla was spotted at the Nankana Sahib Gurudwara in Pakistan, amid the tense situation at the site. Visuals show while a Sikh leader addressing the media declaring that there will be no unscheduled protests as it was their own land, Chawla who was seen standing behind him instructing the media to shut their cameras.
India 04-Jan-2020
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Gobind Singh Longowa said that, SGPC will send a four-member delegation to Pakistan to take stock of the situation following a mob attack on Gurdwara Nankana Sahib. He said " The delegation will also meet Pakistan's Punjab Governor and Chief Minister." He also appealed to the Pakistan Government to take strict action against culprits who pelted stones.
India 04-Jan-2020
Indian political leaders across the spectrum condemned stone-pelting attack on Nankana Sahib in Pakistan and said it was a “shameful situation”.
Pakistan 04-Jan-2020
Pakistan said that what happened at the birthplace of Guru Nanak, Nankana Sahib involved two Muslim groups and attempts to paint it as communal were “patently motivated”.
Pakistan 04-Jan-2020
Dal Khalsa, while condemning the ‘hooliganism’ at Nankana Sahib, urged Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to take an official stand on the unfortunate incident that has severely hurt millions of followers of Guru Nanak Dev ji. Dal Khalsa Spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh, said “I said that one insane person spewing venom against Sikh religion should not become a reason for hindrance in the cementing of Sikh-Muslim brotherhood.”
India 04-Jan-2020
The Jalandhar Police team that had gone to Latianwal village in Kapurthala district to carry out a raid was attacked by villagers. Latianwal is among the several villages falling in the notorious drug belt of Kapurthala. Kapurthala SSP Satinder Singh said that “We have booked 11 persons of the village and raids are on to arrest them. As of now, they are absconding.”
Pakistan 05-Jan-2020
The controversial pro-Khalistan supporter Gopal Singh Chawla was given free access to meet Indian pilgrims at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartapur Sahib complex during the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) organized celebrations to mark the birth anniversary of Sikhs’ tenth master Guru Gobind Singh. According to sources, Pakistan’s Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) allowed Chawla to lead the functions, address the gathering and meet Indian pilgrims.
Pakistan 05-Jan-2020
A 25-year-old Sikh man, identified as Parvendar Singh, was allegedly murdered in Peshawar in Pakistan. His body was found in the Chamkani Police Station area in Peshawar. However, the alleged killer has not been identified yet. The victim was the brother of a journalist, Harmeet Singh, Pakistan’s first Sikh journalist in electronic media.
India 05-Jan-2020
A Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) delegation, led by its president Sukhbir Badal, urged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to seek a categorical assurance from Pakistan that those responsible for a "hate attack" on Sikhs as well as the stoning of Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib would be given an "exemplary punishment." Sukhbir Badal also urged the Minister to raise the issue of atrocities being committed by Pakistan against minorities in the United Nations (UN).
India 05-Jan-2020
India condemned the ‘targeted’ killing of a Sikh youth in Peshawar and the Ministry of External Affairs asked the Pakistan Government to ‘stop prevaricating’ and take immediate action to apprehend and award exemplary punishment to the perpetrators. The Ministry of External Affairs said Pakistan should stop "prevaricating" and take immediate action to apprehend and give exemplary punishment to the perpetrators of the crime.
Pakistan 05-Jan-2020
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the recent incident of vandalism at the Nankana Sahib, saying it goes against his “vision” and the government will show “zero tolerance” against those involved in it.
India 05-Jan-2020
The Special Task Force (STF) arrested two drug peddlers and recovered 402 gm of heroin from their possession in Ludhiana.