Terror under a new banner: Khalistani terrorists go global with ISI and cartel support

New Delhi: India has repeatedly warned countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom about the Khalistan terror menace. Both countries have been complicit when it comes to taking action against the Khalistani terrorists operating on their soil.

The problem is also persistent in the United States, and these elements have managed to get away under the garb of free speech. While they state that their demand is the creation of a separate Khalistan nation carved out of India, in reality, these elements are notorious gangsters, terrorists, arms smugglers, and drug lords.

Earlier, they would operate by using their own networks in these foreign nations. The Khalistani terrorists also have a wide network of gangsters operating in India. These persons indulge in hit jobs, terror acts, and narcotic smuggling.

However, in recent times, the Khalistani elements have teamed up with Latin-American drug cartels and the Chinese network as well. These connections were exposed after the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) revealed that there was a Khalistan connection to the Chinese and Latin-American cartels.

The busting of these networks, which also have an ISI link, led to the arrest of an Indian-Canadian gangster, Opinder Singh. There has not been any link with the Chinese elements and Khalistani terrorists.

However, the security agencies suspect that China may have started to promote these elements following a request by the ISI. In a bid to gain the support of the Chinese, the ISI roped in Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the head of the proscribed group, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ).

Intelligence agencies say that the proximity between the Chinese and Khalistani elements may have begun when India and China were locked in a tense standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). It was at that time that Pannun had written to Chinese President Xi Jinping, in which he justified China’s stand against India.

“We consider China’s counter-military action against India as legitimate and justified to protect its territorial integrity under international laws,” he had written.

He urged the Chinese President to take up the issue of Sikhs’ rights of self-determination in the UN Security Council. He had also written a letter in 2019 to the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan stating that the Indian agencies are planning to attack the Chinese consulate in Pakistan.

China also appeared to be supportive of Pannun when the US agencies arrested one Nikhil Gupta, who had claimed that he had been paid by the Indian agencies to assassinate the SFJ chief. India had rejected the claim and even snubbed China.

These developments are worrying since the ISI has been pooling several resources to ensure that the Khalistan movement is taken forward. To take the movement forward, the ISI brought together gangsters and narcotic smugglers. The mingling with the international cartels is aimed at earning more money so that the movement can be funded in a major way.

While the Indian agencies are on high alert and have not allowed the movement to raise its ugly head in the country, the worry is the associations abroad. The Punjab police also held a detailed meeting with the field officers, during which presentations were given about the issue.

The Punjab police took note of the rise in activity in the border areas of Amritsar and Jalandhar. This was an indication that the ISI was pushing the Khalistan agenda harder.

–IANS