A prominent Sikh leader was brazenly murdered this summer outside a temple in British Columbia (BC), Canada. The death has outraged his supporters and intensified global tensions between Sikh separatists and the Indian government—BBC, September 18, 2023
Rift between India and Canada was triggered in the wake of the tragic killing of a Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was fatally shot outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023, by two unidentified assailants. Hardeep Singh was an outspoken supporter of Khalistan movement, a cause advocating for an independent homeland for the Sikh community. The Indian government had earlier labelled him as ‘terrorist’ and sought his extradition for alleged involvement in a murder case in Indian Punjab.
Canada is home to Indian diaspora for decades, especially the Sikhs, welcoming a multitude of professionals and students, who have travelled great distances to start new lives in a country that ensures fundamental rights to every citizen, irrespective of caste, creed and religion. Due to its inclusive/open political environment, Canada is considered a sanctuary for individuals facing risks in their countries of origin, offering them a haven where they can live without fear of persecution or discrimination. This also reflects the strength and fairness of Canada’s political and judicial systems, guaranteeing the freedom to live, work and engage in activities without bias or prejudice.
Canada-India relations have become tense in recent years. India has been accusing Canada of harbouring sympathy and tolerance for the Sikh separatist movement. Effects of these strained relations were evident during the recent G20 summit in New Delhi, capital of India, earlier this month, where Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not engage in formal bilateral talks. Also reported in the media is that during the summit, Trudeau raised the matter of the slain Sikh leader with Modi and urged him to collaborate/cooperate with Canadian investigations.
Relations further soured recently when Trudeau delivered an incendiary speech in the House of Commons, stating that Canadian intelligence agencies were actively investigating ‘credible allegations’ connecting the assassination of a prominent Canadian Sikh activist to ‘agents of the Indian government’. He went on to emphasize that any foreign government’s involvement in the killing of a Canadian citizen represented “an unacceptable breach of our sovereignty”. Subsequently, the Canadian government expelled a senior Indian diplomat, similarly reciprocated by India, forcing relations between two important countries to deteriorate even more.
India is known for its involvement in breaching the sovereignty of neighbouring countries and sponsoring terrorist activities. India’s prime espionage agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was accused for providing financial support, training and arms to terrorist groups in Sri Lanka, including Tamils, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and other insurgent groups in addition to running training camps on India soil to train Tamil insurgents including women. Noted writer Coomi Kapoor, in her article, Uppermost in our minds was to save the Gandhi’s name, in a document enclosed with a letter from the Director General of Police (Intelligence), Tamil Nadu, K. Mohandas, to the then Chief Secretary Tamil Nadu, revealed a list and location of the training camps. “The total strength of LTTE cadres trained was 495, including 90 women.” Moreover, the total number of trainees of Sri Lankan Tamil militants was put at 3,363.
India has been patronizing terrorist activities in Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan. Paul Cochrane, author of The Funding Methods of Bangladeshi Terrorist Groups writes, “August 17, 2005, was another day that grabbed international attention: 459 bombs were detonated in 63 out of 64 district towns within seven minutes. It was an extraordinary act of terrorism that was logistically impressive, disciplined and deadly. The incident triggered a marked shift in the Bangladeshi government’s stance on terrorism. After initially blaming external forces for the attacks—including Israel’s Mossad and India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)”.
Pakistan is a continuous victim of India’s nefarious design of disrupting peace in the region and has on numerous occasions established Indian financial backing to insurgents for orchestrating acts of terrorism on its territory. Pakistan has also brought the attention of the international community towards India’s onslaught against it, including maintenance of training facilities in neighbouring countries and funding/training Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). As reported in an English daily, “In an acknowledgement of Pakistan’s concerns over India’s presence in Afghanistan, US Special Representative James Dobbins Wednesday said Islamabad’s fears are “not groundless”.
In March 2016 Pakistan apprehended an Indian operative, Kulbhushan Jadhav in Balochistan for terrorist activities. During interrogation by the authorities, he confessed his involvement in various terrorist attacks, including provision of financial support to Baloch separatists. Pakistan’s military court issued a death sentence against him, but the International Court of Justice (ICJ) intervened, citing a violation of the Vienna Convention. The ICJ pointed out that India was not promptly informed of Jadhav’s detention and that he was not apprised of his rights under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular access. Pakistan contended he was a spy and not a diplomat. However, the ICJ did not overturn charges related to terrorism and alleged killing of innocent Pakistanis. Instead, it called on Pakistan to conduct a new trial while ensuring counselor access.
Apart from sponsoring terrorism in neighbouring countries, India has a history of persecution of minorities, extremism, intolerance and mistreatment of individuals holding diverse political, ethnic, religious, and ideological views, and has been involved in human rights violations over the past several decades, especially in held Kashmir. These atrocities, committed by the Indian government, have made certain segments of society highly vulnerable. Many individuals with different political ideologies have been forced to leave the country to protect themselves and their families from the increased intolerance exhibited by the state and its policies of Hindutva.
Killing of Muslims and other minorities has become a routine in India. Former president of the United States, Barack Obama, during in an interview on the day when Modi was meeting the President Joe Biden, expressly highlighted this issue stating that India may start “pulling apart” if the government does not protect the rights of its ethnic minorities.
Often referred to as the world’s largest democracy, India has a historical record of being a source of instability on the global stage, the consequences of which have primarily been borne by the South Asian region. Its blatant violations of human rights in Occupied Kashmir have gained worldwide attention, where numerous individuals, including the elderly, children, and women, have been subjected to abduction and violence in a deliberate effort to suppress their right to a plebiscite as outlined in UN resolutions. Innocent civilians in Occupied Kashmir continue to suffer as they remain under constant siege of state’s terrorism.
United Nation’s (UN) reticence over atrocities committed by India together with undue favour showered on it by world powers has brought it in direct conflict with Canada, one of the world’s most peaceful and law-abiding countries. It is about time for United States and other important countries to rethink their policy towards India and take decisive action asking it to stop terrorist acts at home and abroad. They must not allow other nations to be turned into battlegrounds by India, while pursuing its agenda of aggression and oppression.
The brazen and shameless acts of India, which have endangered global peace, should be condemned and addressed by influential powers such as USA, European Union, and other global stakeholders. USA’s undue support and favours to India, apparently to contain Chinese influence in the region are bound to be counter-productive as in doing so, it would be creating a dangerous force in the region. It should realize that overlooking Indian violations and letting it go unpunished may have serious repercussions for the whole world in future, as evident by strained relations with Canada.
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Dr. Ikramul Haq, Advocate Supreme Court, specializes in constitutional, corporate, media and cyber laws, ML/CFT, IT, intellectual property, arbitration and international taxation. He holds LLD in tax laws with specialization in transfer pricing. He was full-time journalist from 1979 to 1984 with Viewpoint and Dawn. He served Civil Services of Pakistan from 1984 to 1996. He established Huzaima & Ikram in 1996 and is presently its chief partner as well as partner in Huzaima Ikram & Ijaz.
He studied journalism, English literature and law. He is Chief Editor of Taxation. He is country editor and correspondent of International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) and member of International Fiscal Association (IFA). He is Visiting Faculty at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and member Advisory Board and Visiting Senior Fellow of Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE).
He has coauthored with Huzaima Bukhari many books that include Tax Reforms in Pakistan: Historic & Critical Review, Towards Flat, Low-rate, Broad and Predictable Taxes (revised & Expanded Edition, Pakistan: Enigma of Taxation, Towards Flat, Low-rate, Broad and Predictable Taxes (revised/enlarged edition of December 2020), Law & Practice of Income Tax, Law , Practice of Sales Tax, Law and Practice of Corporate Law, Law & Practice of Federal Excise, Law & Practice of Sales Tax on Services, Federal Tax Laws of Pakistan, Provincial Tax Laws, Practical Handbook of Income Tax, Tax Laws of Pakistan, Principles of Income Tax with Glossary and Master Tax Guide, Income Tax Digest 1886-2011 (with judicial analysis).
He is author of Commentary on Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreements signed by Pakistan, Pakistan: From Hash to Heroin, its sequel Pakistan: Drug-trap to Debt-trap and Practical Handbook of Income Tax. He regularly writes columns for many Pakistani newspapers and international journals and has contributed over 2500 articles on a variety of issues of public interest, printed in various journals, magazines and newspapers at home and abroad.
Abdul Rauf Shakoori, Advocate High Court, is a subject-matter expert on AML-CFT, Compliance, Cyber Crime and Risk Management. He has been providing AML-CFT advisory and training services to financial institutions (banks, DNFBPs, investment companies, money service businesses, insurance companies and securities), government institutions including law enforcement agencies located in North America (USA & CANADA), Middle East and Pakistan. His areas of expertise include legal, strategic planning, cross border transactions including but not limited to joint ventures (JVs), mergers & acquisitions (M&A), takeovers, privatizations, overseas expansions, USA Patriot Act, Banking Secrecy Act, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The recent publication, coauthored with Huzaima Bukhari is: Pakistan Tackling FATF: Challenges & Solutions,
available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RXH8W46 and https://aacp.com.pk/
