Khalistan camp in Canada plotting attacks in Punjab: Here's why India should be worried

Punjab’s intelligence agencies have reportedly alerted the Canadian government on pro-Khalistan terrorists running a camp near Mission city in British Columbia to carry out strikes in Punjab,  The Times of India reported. According to the report, Canadian Sikh Hardeep Nijjar has taken over as the operational head of Khalistan Terror Force (KTF) and formed a module comprising Sikh youths to carry out the attacks. [caption id=“attachment_2791042” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A file photo of Justin Trudeau. Reuters[/caption] Making a reference to the recent Pathankot airbase attack, the report to Justin Trudeau’s government said that Nijjar “was to arrange weapons from Pakistan but due to high alert on the border in the wake of Pathankot incident, it could not materialise”, according to The Times of India. Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh accused of being involved in the 2007 Shingaar cinema blast is a wanted terrorist in Punjab, International Business Times. He has been staying in Surrey since 1995 on a Canadian passport. In April, according to a Hindustan Times report, the Indian government had intelligence inputs indicating that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was “attempting to whip up support for Khalistan” in Canada. Why should India be worried A movement by separatists group is taking roots in Canada even as the Narendra Modi government is working on many measures to take forward the outreach to Canada’s Sikh community. According to analysts support for Khalistan is dwindling. According to the report in Hindustan Times, many pro-Pakistan Kashmiri separatists are Khalistan sympathisers and Pakistan’s Consul General in Toronto, Asghar Ali Golo’s support for Khalistan is well-known. In fact in April this year, the Pakistani diplomat “didn’t seem to mind that a Khalistan flag flew in the background and a banner seeking a referendum fluttered in the frame.” After the Gurdaspur terror attack , there were speculations about a Khalistan link, even though every evidence pointed towards a fidayeen attack. But like Sandipan Sharma of Firstpost observed, “Heavens will fall if the perpetrators point to a Khalistan link.”