Canadian think tank says Pakistan behind Khalistan groups, Justin Trudeau’s government not acting due to domestic pressure

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A Canadian think tank has published a report accusing Pakistan of fuelling the Khalistan movement in Canada. The report also claims that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau-led government is not acting on this matter due to domestic political compulsions.

The report titled ‘Khalistan: A Project of Pakistan’ has been authored by journalist Terry Milewski and was released by the McDonald Laurier Institute. According to Milewski, Pakistan is backing the Khalistan movement designed to undermine national security of both Canada and India.

The report mentions ‘Sikh for Justice’, a pro-Khalistan group banned by India, among other organisations accused of being the “driving force in the campaign for a referendum on Sikh independence”.

The report further claims that in 2018, the Canadian government deliberately altered its public report on terrorism threat to say “extremists who support violent means to establish an independent state within India” instead of the original text saying “Sikh (Khalistani) extremist ideologies and movements”.

According to the report’s author, this was done under the pressure of “well-funded fringe activists” in the country.

The report suggests that Sikh separatism does not enjoy support among Indian Sikhs and the sentiment is also limited to just a small section of the community overseas.

According to the think tank, the map of Khalistan released by referendum campaigners excludes all of parts under Pakistan’s Punjab.

“The proposed Khalistan does not reach one inch into traditional Sikh lands in Pakistan – not to Lahore, where Maharaja Ranjit Singh ruled over a Sikh empire two hundred years ago, or even to Nankana Sahib, sacred birthplace of Guru Nanak, the first Sikh guru. Needless to say, these lie at the heart of Sikh culture and history,” the author said.