“KHALISTAN: A PROJECT OF PAKISTAN.”: NEW MLI PUBLICATION
by staff reporter, 9 September 2020
A new report on 'Khalistan: A Project of Pakistan' by senior journalist Terry Mileskwi published by Macdonald-Laurier Institute posits that Pakistan has been behind the Khalistan agenda and that the demand does not enjoy popular support among the Sikhs, especially in India, where most of the world's Sikhs live
The report finds that, as the cause has little traction in Punjab, Pakistan’s support of Khalistani extremists entails leveraging sympathizers based in Canada. Most infamously, the bombing of Air India Flight 182 was an act of Khalistani terrorism.
You can read the full report here
Why does it matter? In 2018 Canadian security agencies have warned that Khalistani extremism was among the top 5 threats to our national security. Yet, following an international lobbying campaign, Ottawa took the unprecedented step of removing this reference from its national security statement.
In 2018, an international lobby campaign advocating for an independent Khalistan successfully removed references to “Sikh (Khalistani) extremist ideologies and movements,” from the Ministry of Public Safety’s Public Report on the Terrorism Threat to Canada. In response, the federal government took the unprecedented step of amending its national security statement, placating a vocal domestic constituency, and replacing the original language with “Extremists who support violent means to establish an independent state within India.”
In the ensuing domestic debate, a more important issue was obscured. This was also the first time that Canada’s national security community elevated violent extremists advocating for an independent Khalistan into a top-five threat to Canadian national security.
It might seem surprising that 35 years after Khalistani extremists bombed Air India Flight 182, the deadliest attack on aviation before 9/11, that a new generation of violent extremists has now emerged in Canada and India. Given Pakistan’s continued campaign of agitation, “It’s clear who’s really driving the Khalistan bus: Pakistan,” writes Milewski. In truth, “the Khalistan movement has been going nowhere in the Sikhs’ home state.”
For Canadians, Pakistan’s actions pose a real and present national security risk. As the Khalistani cause has little traction in Punjab, Pakistan’s support of Khalistani extremists entails leveraging extremists based in Canada, including supporters with ties to terrorism. With a looming “referendum” scheduled for November 2020 by proponents of an independent Khalistan, there has been skepticism from Sikh communities around the world. For its part, the Canadian government has stated it will not recognize it. However, the report warns that the referendum provides oxygen that fuels extremist ideologies, radicalizes young Canadians, wreaks havoc on reconciliation, and usurps legislatures.
From the report "It’s clear who’s driving the Khalistan bus: Pakistan." If you wish to learn more, please download and read the report.