Parliament honour for Nijjar shows Canada is killin' it at being Pakistan

New Delhi

The Canadian parliament on June 18 held a 'moment of silence' for pro-Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead a year ago by two unidentified men in the parking lot of a Gurdwara in British Columbia's Surrey.

Nijjar, who entered Canada in February 1997 on a fake passport and was an Indian citizen until 2007 had been listed as terrorist by India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) after years of "insurrectionary imputations" for the creation of an imagined Sikh homeland in northern India, called Khalistan.

An official Indian government notification dated July 1, 2020 showing Hardeep Singh Nijjar listed as terrorist under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 

Nijjar was accused of being among orchestrators of the assassination of a Dalit spiritual leader Baba Bhaniara in Punjab in 2014. 

Also read | Canada pulls off a Pakistan act, holds 'moment of silence' for terrorist Hardeep Nijjar in parliament

In 2018, the Indian government again accused Nijjar of "multiple targeted killings" in India, and in February 2018, Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of Punjab, included Nijjar on a list of "most wanted persons" given to Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau.

Also read | 'Oppose move giving political space to extremism': India's foreign ministry on Canada honouring Nijjar

According to an Indian government dossier, Nijjar frequently travelled to Pakistan for arms and explosives training, and in coordination with Pakistan-based Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Jagtar Singh Tara, even organised arms training camp on Canadian soil in December 2015 to train one Mandeep Singh Dhaliwal in the use of an AK-47 assault rifle, a sniper rifle and a pistol.

Dhaliwal was subsequently sent to Punjab to target Shiv Sena leaders there.

So even as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed last year that Ottawa's investigating agencies are probing potential role of "Indian government agents" on the basis of some "credible allegations" — not the evidence — what exactly makes Nijjar a "human rights activist", as per Ottawa?

In an August 2021 sermon when he was the chief of Surrey's Gurdwara body, Nijjar openly exhorted taking up arms against the Indian state and "dancing to the edge of the sword".

"Those who advocate peaceful methods, we need to leave them behind. What justice will we get this way?," Nijjar had said, according to the Globe and Mail newspaper.

Pakistan and Canada: Strange parallel in glorification of terror

The last time Indians noted the use of a parliamentary institution for glorification of terrorism, it was back in 2016 in neighbouring Pakistan. In September 2016, Pakistani leader Fawad Chaudhry described slain Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani as "freedom fighter", drawing thumps on the benches of Islamabad's National Assembly.

But whether Pakistan acknowledges it or not, it has suffered the consequences of making terrorism an instrument of foreign policy.

Numerous groups funded and trained by Pakistan in its unsuccessful attempts to 'bleed India by a thousand cuts' splintered into Frankenstein's monsters for the South Asian nation, carrying out routine terror attacks targeting Pakistani civilians and security forces. 

Also watch | Canada holds 'moment of silence' for terrorist Hardeep Nijjar in parliament

The country became a fountainhead of terrorism, with groups like Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and others turning their guns against their own benefactors. 

Islamabad made some show of mending it ways, sending into house arrest some leaders who were roaming free, like founders of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammed, only when global anti-terror funding watchdog FATF put the country under a 'grey list'. 

Those attempts slowly faded as soon as the lens of global agencies turned away.

In the past decades, Pakistan had armed and helped Khalistaini terrorists operating from its soil.

The former government of Afghanistan had blamed Pakistan for helping its ouster by Taliban. 

So both its neighbours, Afghanistan and India, have blamed Pakistan for being the originator and funder of terrorism. 

It will be a tiring repetition of facts if I begin listing the numerous times Pakistan-bred terrorists attacked India, or helped the continuing infiltrations into its territory. 

Now, in a curious turn of history, Canada is becoming a glorifier of Khalistani terrorism in the name of freedom of speech. 

A combination of factors are behind it: The Justin Trudeau government is in coalition with the New Democratic Party, whose leader Jagmeet Singh is an open supporter of Khalistan movement. Over the years, constant family-based migration of Sikhs into some key Burrows (Canadian electoral districts) has made them a key 'vote bank' and deciding factor in the country's local and national elections. 

This, and very active participation of Canadian Sikhs in voting, eventually led to the community having political clout far beyond its demographic strength. 

From a community once turned away in the 'Komagata Maru incident' of 1914, to having ministers in the cabinet, Sikhs have come a long way in Canada. 

But to use that clout in some way or the other, directly or tacitly, to support Khalistani movement amounts to activities violating India's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

It is ironic that Canada, which faced its largest terror attack from Khalistanis, is praising Nijjar around the same time as it is marking the anniversary of that terrible tragedy, the Kanishka bombing, which killed 268 Candian citizens, the largest nationality among 329 total victims.

Opportunistic politics is what led Canada to this situation where a person like Nijjar gets a moment and mention in parliament. 

But Canadian historians will do well to remind the government that there are some lessons to be learned from Pakistan's experience of becoming a state sponsor of terrorism, only to fall victim to the monster it created. Canada has allowed denounced cause of Khalistan to spawn a brutal gang culture spanning two continents. It will only return to haunt the exact freedom of speech Trudeau claims to be defending.

Also read | Kanishka terror attack anniversary: India says justice awaited; Trudeau silent on perpetrators

For now, by holding a 'moment of silence' in the parliament for a person of Nijjar's profile, Canada has pulled off a terror-sympathising act of Pakistani proportions. Its justification in the name of "individual freedoms" or "free speech" bolsters extremism, the kind that fathers acts of terror like Kanishka bombing, 26/11 and 9/11.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)