Pakistani Sikh protest killing of separatist leader in Canada

PESHAWAR: Scores of Pakistani Sikhs protested on Monday against the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada, which they blamed on Indian intelligence agents, and demanded sanctions against India.

The protesters marched from Dagri to Gurdwara in Peshawar, holding placards and chanting slogans in support of the Khalistan Movement, which seeks an independent homeland for Sikhs in India’s northern state of Punjab.

They accused India of being a “terrorist state” that violates the human rights of its minorities and said the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June was proof of its involvement in violence abroad.

The Pakistani Sikh protesters called on the European Union and the United Nations to condemn India’s actions and impose sanctions on it and its intelligence agency RAW.

Sikh leader’s assassination exposes ‘India’s global extra-judicial killing network’

They also vowed to continue their struggle for Khalistan and said they would not be intimidated by India’s threats.

Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population. He was a vocal backer of a separate Khalistan state and was organising an unofficial referendum in India for Sikh independence at the time of his death.

India had designated Hardeep as a “terrorist” and accused him of involvement in an alleged attack on a Hindu priest in India. Indian authorities announced a cash reward last year for information leading to his arrest.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that his government was investigating “credible allegations” that India was connected to Nijjar’s assassination, which he called “an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty”.

He said he raised the issue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit in New Delhi last week and asked for cooperation in the investigation.

The Indian government dismissed the allegations as “absurd and motivated” and asked Canada to crack down on anti-India groups operating in its territory.