Canada: Terrorists sponsor Canada visas, woo youths into ranks

NEW DELHI: Slain terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and other pro-Khalistan elements in Canada have been building a local ‘pro-Khalistan brigade’ by sponsoring visas for gullible Punjab youths for medium-skilled jobs, including religious duties in gurdwaras controlled by them, and “offering shelter and low-scale jobs” with gurdwaras’ resources for “sustenance” of illegal immigrants and Indian students, as per Indian intelligence sources.
Many of these ‘indebted’ youths — brought in to work as plumbers, truck drivers or do religious duties as sewadars, pathis and ragis in the 30-plus gurdwaras controlled by pro-Khalistan elements across Surrey, Brampton, Edmonton, etc — are sucked into the separatist movement and used for organising anti-India protests and conducting radical-religious congregations in Canada, said an officer.
Apart from the pro-Khalistan elements based in Canada — primarily Nijjar, Moninder Singh Bual, Parminder Pangli and Bhagat Singh Brar — the Shiromani Akali Dal-Amritsar, a political party in Punjab, is said to charge Rs 1-2 lakh to issue a “letter” to the state’s youths for seeking political asylum in Canada, falsely claiming that they are party cadres being persecuted in India on religious grounds. These youths are head-hunted for pro-Khalistan activities upon reaching Canada.
The human trafficking channel, which remains undisrupted under the very nose of Canadian agencies, is essentially to make up for the lack of support for the Khalistani cause among the local Indian diaspora, claimed an officer in Indian security agencies. Agencies here link Canada’s soft-pedalling of pro-Khalistani elements on its soil, to the rise in their clout in gurdwaras across the country; a clout that has emboldened them to now intimidate Hindu members of the local Indian diaspora and also threaten defacement of their temples.
The “foot soldiers” of the Khalistan brigade were used in recent years to mobilise support for the ‘Khalistan Referendum’ campaign of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ). Nijjar, Bual and Bhagat Singh Brar also formed an unholy nexus with gangsters in Punjab like Davinder Bambhiagang, Arsh Dalla gang, Lakhbir Landa gang and brought these wanted gangsters to Canada in lieu of using their operatives in Punjab for terror attacks.
An officer said pro-Khalistan elements have used the garb of ‘freedom of expression’, ‘political advocacy’ etc to carry out separatist and terrorist activities on Canadian soil for 50 years. “Kanishka bombing perpetuated by Khalistani extremists in 1985 was then one of the biggest terror attacks in the world. However, due to apparent lackadaisical approach of Canadian agencies, accused Talwinder Singh Parmar and aides went scot-free. Ironically, Parmar is now a hero of Khalistanis in Canada with SFJ naming its campaign centre after him,” noted an Indian intelligence official.
Links of Canada-based Khalistani extremists have emerged in more than half of the terror cases reported from Punjab. The multiple targeted killings of Sikhs, Hindus and Christians in Punjab after 2016 have also been linked by investigations to Nijjar and his allies. However, Canadian agencies are yet to start inquiry or investigation against Nijjar or his friends Bhagat Singh Brar, Parry Dulai, Arsh Dalla, Lakbir Landa, etc.
The role of Canada-based gangsters in bringing drugs from Pakistan into Punjab, and using the proceeds to fund Khalistan activities has emerged in several NIA investigations. Inter-gang rivalries among gangsters from Punjab are common in Canada now. In 2022, pro-India Sikh leader Ripudaman Singh Malik was killed in Surrey, with the agencies here suspecting Nijjar’s role. However, the Canadian agencies only charged two local criminals, who were not of Indian origin, in the case.
Agencies here link Canada’s soft-pedalling of Khalistanis to the rise in their clout in gurdwaras across Canada; a clout that has emboldened them to now intimidate Hindus in Canada and also threaten defacement of their temples.
The human trafficking channel, which remains undisrupted under the very nose of Canadian agencies, is essentially to make up for the lack of support for the Khalistani cause among Sikhs based in Canada, claimed an Indian intelligence officer.