Canada supports Khalistan movement for vote bank, says expert

Jun 28, 2019

New Delhi, June 28: If the anti-India Khalistan movement gets logistics and intelligence support from Pakistan’s secret agency ISI then it is Canada, which provides it land and leadership. A large number of Khalistani activities including, anti-India protests and demonstrations that were staged lately have their origins in this North American country. Accusing Canadian government of complicity in anti-India Khalistani activities, Chief Minister of Indian state of Punjab, Amarinder Singh criticized Ottawa for not acting against the Khalistani extremists whose name he had provided to Prime Minister Trudeau on his visit to India last year. Citing the report published by Canadian bodies, Singh said that Canada has not just failed in acting against those who have killed hundreds of innocents but also in preventing the rise of Khalistani extremists on its soil. Experts say that either the investigations have been botched-up or they have been swept under the carpet. On a number of occasions, Justin Trudeau has been seen fraternizing with the people who have consistently supported the Khalistan movement. Earlier this year, he went on to the extent of dropping ‘Khalistani extremism’ from Canada’s annual report on terrorism threat. Criticizing the moves of Canadian government, various geopolitical experts have asserted that Canada, which is less prone to terrorism owing to its geography, has been ignoring massive threats just to receive a handful of votes. While Pakistan continues to pump in a lot of money to the failed secessionist movement, it is the political support from Canada that has boosted the morale of Khalistanis. However, Canada must realise that the failed movement doesn’t resonate with progressive Punjabis of India and they have rebuffed it repeatedly. Encouraging such extremists for vote-bank is going to be detrimental for their own people and by and large the state.