I write a blog somewhat regularly and do some other writing on politics in India, Canada and occasionally the world. Out of an intense interest in matters political I follow the Canadian, Indian and world news quite religiously. That is why I was shocked to have missed till yesterday the Khalistan Tiger Force story (KTF) originating out of India implicating two Canadian men from Surrey in an alleged terror training camp in Mission. Khalistan is the name of the imaginary separate Sikh state to be carved out of India. The training at a shooting range, we are told, was to be used for organising terror attacks in Punjab.
This story has been prominently covered in Canada following the disclosures in the Times of India, the largest English daily in the world. I was curious. I dug a little deeper. The first reference to the story I found is dated April16, 2016, not in the Times of India as one would expect; it was in the Hindustan Times, another major newspaper. The thrust of the story was that "Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence Agency (ISI) is using Sikh extremists in Canada for pro-Khalistan and anti-India activities."It is alleged that Hardeep Singh Nijjar of Surrey--an associate of one Jagtar Tara who was involved in the assassination of Chief Minister of Punjab Beant Singh in 1995--travelled to Thailand to meet Tara in December 2014 and provide him financial support. Tara was deported to India in January 2015 but prior to that Nijjar travelled to Pakistan to liaise with ISI to arrange for Tara's escape from Thailand to Pakistan. He obviously failed. Nijjar had been allegedly involved in a plan to mount a terror attack on the premises of a particular sect.
The April 16 Hindustan Times story mentions names of several other Canadian Sikhs believed to be linked to and working with several Khalistani outfits; some of them allegedly collecting money in Canada for terrorist outfits based in Pakistan.
The more recent story that made headlines in Canada today (May30, 2016) actually appeared in the Hindustan Times five days ago on May25, 2016. It is alleged the terror outfits Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF)based in surrey, allegedly commanded by Nijjar and the Pakistan based Babbar Khalsa International(BKI) were planning coordinated attacks in Punjab.Allegedly Mandeep Singh had been sent from Canada by Nijjar and the KTF and One Arvinder Singh alias Mitha from Doha by the BKI. Mitha was allegedly taking instructions from BKI's Karanbir Singh in Pakistan, a prison escapee from India facing a murder charge in India. Mandeep was allegedly being guided by Nijjar from Surrey as well as a source in Pakistan.
Both men and the groups behind them were alleged to have various persons and establishments in their sights. On their alleged hit lists for terror attacks were some heads of religious sects and organisations as well as retired senior police officers.
The story made the news in Canada now because the government of India has alerted the Canadian government recently about the KTF and Nijjar, just as it did in 2015. India has also asked that Nijjar be extradited to India to face terror charges relating to a 2007 bomb blast at a cinema in the Punjabi city of Ludhiana that killed six persons.
Even if half of the above is true, it is a cause for serious concern. It means that the threat of violence from the handful of Khalistani extremists in Canada remains real enough for the government of India to write about it to the Canadian government. So far the alleged violence appears to be directed at destabilising Punjab. It appears to be aided and abetted by Pakistan through its ISI, long known to have been funding Canadian Khalistanis to wreak terror upon the border state of Punjab. ISI and the rogue elements of the Pakistani military have encouraged and funded terror against India for some time in Kashmir and in Punjab. The last year's the Dina Nagar police station attack and the Pathankot attack on the air force base are the latest examples of Pakistan/ISI funded and facilitated terror in Punjab, India.
Madeep is alleged to have been doing reconnaissance for the planning of more such attacks. He was supposed to have received ammunition by a paragalider from Pakistan but increased surveillance after the Pathankot attack made that impossible.
It should worry us that Mandeep and Nijjar are just two of the several Canadian Khalistanis mentioned in the news reports. Khalistani separatism has become main stream in our political parties too. All the three major political parties have allowed Khalistani separatists into the upper echelons. The proposed and sought dismemberment of another democratic country like India poses no problems at all for our politicians.
The politicians forget that the monsters in our midst and on our soil that we first embrace or ignore can and often do become Frankenstein's. That is how the Air India terror had succeeded. It germinated, grew and struck against Canadians from the Canadian soil because the policing agencies and politicians of the day were wilfully blind to the pain the Indo Canadians were going through in the aftermath of the Operation Bluestar at the Golden Temple in India. We now talk about Jihadi radicalisation of Muslims. In different shapes, forms and guises Khalistani radicalisation has been happening in Canada since the early eighties.
If the Canadian Khalistani terror is planning to strike Punjab, India, the strikes may also do collateral damage to Canadian lives. And the frustrated terrorists unable to strike India may choose to target Indian interests in Canada. Heaven forbid, if that happens some Canadian lives too may be lost or irretrievably hurt. The Air India terrorists had set out to hurt India; they ended up killing over three hundred Canadians.
The Mayor of Mission has downplayed the reports coming out of India. It is Times of India, unreliable, he said. And if the RCMP doesn't know there is possible terror activity, and he claimed in this case it didn't, whatever the news reports said was happening wasn't happening, said the mayor.
Now cast your mind back to 1985.
We know India had alerted Canada about threats of terror against Air India.
We know Canada didn't take them seriously.
The CSIS and the RCMP didn't have a clue.
The terror happened.
Over three hundred brown and non-brown Canadians died.
Until 9/11, Air India had been the largest aviation terror in the world, planned and executed by Canadians, from the Canadian soil.
Let us take all terror threats seriously.
Let us not play the proverbial ostriches for some threats of terror!
Note: On May 31,2016 Nijjar is reported to have denied any and all allegations of involvement in terrorism as claimed by India.
@ujjaldosanjh