Top Pak diplomat holds secret meeting with Sikh radicals in Canada to fuel anti-India movement

According to sources, Pakistan’s Consul General Janbaz Khan visited two pro-Khalistan Gurudwaras in the Surrey suburb of Vancouver ostensibly to thank the office-bearers for their donations to flood relief in Pakistan.

The timing of the visit coincided with the so-called “Sikh Referendum” held on September 18 by extremist elements in Brampton, Ontario. The top Pakistani diplomat was accompanied by two of his colleagues and held secret meetings with pro-Khalistan radicals to express support for their cause.

Khan has also served as Pakistan’s High Commissioner in New Delhi and has first-hand knowledge of India’s socio-economic milieu which helps him to mix around with the people albeit as an agent provocateur.

The top Pakistani diplomat met the office-bearers of Sri Dashmesh Darbar Gurdwara and Guru Nanak Sikh Gurudwara in Surrey who are known for their anti-India views.

An aggressive extremist group backed by Pakistan’s notorious ISI has taken control of the management of the gurudwaras with the silent majority choosing to avoid any confrontation with them.

The president of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurudwara, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, has a Rs 10 lakh bounty on his head as he is wanted in four cases by India’s anti-terror agency NIA. The cases include the conspiracy of carrying out targeted killings in Punjab as part of which a Hindu priest was also killed at Phillaur in Punjab.

A dossier prepared by the Punjab police reveals that Nijjar was a close associate of Jagtar Singh Tara earlier based in Pakistan in 2012. He visited Pakistan in April 2012 to meet Tara. Nijjar raised a Khalistan Tiger Force module in Punjab by motivating Parminder Kala, a resident of Mughal Majri in Ropar district for targeting Baba Piara Singh Bhaniarawala and Sanjeev Ghanouli, a Shiv Sena leader, for their alleged anti-panthic activities.

In December 2015 Nijjar reportedly organised an arms training camp in Mission Hills, BC, Canada wherein Mandeep Singh Dhaliwal originally a resident of Chak Kalan in the Ludhiana district, and 3 other youths were imparted training to use AK-47 assault rifles, sniper rifles, and pistols. Mandeep was sent to Punjab in January 2016 to carry out targeted killings but he was arrested in June before he could execute the plan.

The Justin Trudeau government officially communicated to India on September 16 that it does not recognise the so-called referendum and respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of India.

However, at the same time due to its political compulsions, the Canadian government has done little to curb anti-India tendencies amongst a section of the radicalised Sikh community.

New Delhi has lodged a strong protest with Canada as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not do anything to stop an illegal “referendum” on Khalistan in Brampton on September 18, conducted by a proscribed organisation Sikhs For Justice.

India is expected to take a tougher diplomatic position to drive home its message to Canada that they need to do much more to curb the anti-India activities of some radical Sikhs living in the country.

Both External Affairs Minister S. Jaishakar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval are reported to be formulating stronger diplomatic measures to let Canada know that it cannot take India for granted.

_IANS