Sikhs protest against killing of pro-Khalistan leader

Protesters condemn Modi govt’s involvement in assassination of Nijjar in Canada

LAHORE:

Members of the Pakistani Sikh community on Wednesday staged a protest demonstration against the Indian government over the killing of a pro-Khalistan Sikh leader in Canada, demanding of the world community to take notice of Indian atrocities.

The protesters raised slogans against the India’s Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government. They said that after the Narendra Modi government came to power, incidents of violence against the minorities, including Sikhs and Muslims, had increased.

They said that the Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing was involved in the targeted killings of Sikhs.

They demanded of the international community to take notice of the atrocities against the Sikhs and their genocide by the Indian government.

The protest was held amid escalating tension between Canada and India over the assassination of pro-Khalistan Sikh activist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, outside a Sikh cultural centre in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada on June 18.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told parliament there were “credible allegations” that India’s government might have had a hand in the assassination of Nijjar.

He added that he had asked Modi for cooperation in the investigation.

Speaking to the media at the demonstration, former Punjab Assembly member (MPA) Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora said that India was involved in the killing of Nijjar, a strong supporter of an independent Sikh homeland known as Khalistan, in the Indian state of Punjab.

“The Indian government is afraid of the Khalistan referendum, therefore, it is going for the target killing of Sikhs,” Arora said. “A peaceful, democratic struggle for the establishment of Khalistan is the fundamental right of the Sikhs.”

Referring to Trudeau’s statement in Canada’s House of Commons earlier this week, Arora said that the Canadian prime minister “has given evidence” of India's involvement in the killing of the Sikh leader, adding that “India has always spread terrorism”.