South Asia Terrorism Portal
Punjab: Emerging Challenge Ajit Kumar Singh Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
On July 5, 2020, the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology reportedly took down 40 websites run and operated by the pro-Khalistan Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), on a recommendation from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA). These websites were being used to propagate anti-India sentiment across the world and for trying to recruit young Sikhs to join militant ranks. Though both these ministries refused to disclose details of websites that were blocked, one of the prominent websites associated widely with the group – www.referendum2020.org – through which the SFJ sought support from Sikh youth for the formation of a separate ‘Khalistan State’, is not accessible. The SFJ’s Facebook page has already been blocked in India.
The spokesperson of the UMHA said that the action (blocking the websites) was taken subsequent to the outfit launching online voter registration for ‘Referendum 2020’. On July 4, 2020, SFJ launched its online voter registration for ‘Referendum 2020' for people in Punjab through a Russian portal, www.punjabfree.ru. ‘Referendum 2020’ seeks to “liberate Punjab from Indian occupation”. The website was blocked in India, shortly after going online.
Unconfirmed reports, meanwhile, indicate that SFJ, without announcing any new dates, has deferred its ‘Referendum 2020’ programme to 2022, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as its reason. The possibility of deferment had been in the air since Pakistan-based Khalistani leader Gopal Singh Chawla had stated on May 29, 2020, “Neither is it written in Quran nor in Guru Granth Sahib that ‘referendum 2020’ has to be held in 2020 only.” There is now no clarity over the ‘referendum’ date.
On July 1, 2020, UMHA declared nine persons, including Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the United States (US)-based legal adviser of SFJ, terrorists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for their involvement in acts of terror and pushing the Khalistan movement. UMHA in a release observed,
The other designated terrorists included: Wadhawa Singh Babbar, Pakistan-based ‘chief’ of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI); Paramjit Singh, United Kingdom-based ‘chief’ of BKI; Lakhbir Singh, Pakistan-based ‘chief’ of International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF); Ranjeet Singh, Pakistan-based ‘chief’ of Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF); Bhupinder Singh Bhinda, Germany-based key member of KZF; Gurmeet Singh Bagga, Germany-based key member of KZF; Paramjit Singh, Pakistan-based ‘chief’ of Khalistan Commando Force; and Hardeep Singh Nijjar:, Canada-based ‘chief’ of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF).
Significantly, SFJ had earlier been designated an unlawful organisation, on July 10, 2019. KZF, BKI, ISYF, KCF, are also among the list of 42 groups banned by the UMHA. KTF is yet to be banned.
On June 22, 2020, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Pargat Singh, one of the key conspirators and “recruiter of radical Sikh youth while working under the directions of handlers located abroad to further the activities of SFJ”.
Since April 5, 2020, NIA is investigating a case pertaining to “carrying out of propaganda activities both online and on ground and campaigns in support of Referendum 2020/SFJ, including pasting of posters in Delhi and various parts of Punjab, committed by groups of radicalised youths under direction of and financial assistance from SFJ handlers located abroad”. Investigations have so far revealed that arrested accused persons, including Pargat Singh, had received funds from their foreign handlers through various Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS) platforms.
In its notification of July 10, 2019, banning SFJ for five years and declaring it as an “unlawful association” under the UAPA, UMHA observed, inter alia,
When the SFJ opposed the ban, the Union Government on August 7, 2019, constituted a Tribunal “for the purpose of adjudicating whether or not there is sufficient cause for declaring the Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) as unlawful association.” On January 6, 2020, the Tribunal upheld the Government’s decision.
According to the notification details, SFJ has been found involved in several disruptive activities. Most recently, according to a June 28, 2020, report, Intelligence agencies warned that anti-India activities were being guided by a handler of Pakistan’s external intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), named Abdullah, in close coordination with SFJ’s ‘founder’ Avtar Singh Pannu, a United Kingdom resident.
SFJ, which was formed in 2007, has emerged as a challenge for the security establishment in Punjab in particular, and India at large, since 2018. The group came into prominence in August 2018, after its August 12 ‘London Declaration’ where it called for the ‘Referendum 2020’ for Khalistan. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the face of the outfit, declared
However, it is pertinent to recall that “Referendum 2020” was conceptualised by SFJ, way back in June 2014. Not surprisingly, the ISI, which has for long been relentless in its efforts to destabilize Punjab (as well as India as a whole), using all means, has been supporting the SFJ since then. After its ‘London Declaration’, SFJ has become prominent among terrorist/disruptive instruments of the ISI operating against India.
According to intelligence sources, ISI has launched a secret operation code-named as ‘Express’ to fund and promote the ‘Referendum 2020’ campaign. Significantly, on November 22, 2018, when India’s Cabinet approved the decision on the construction of the Kartarpur Corridor, Pakistan gave permission to SFJ to open its office in Lahore, Pakistan (on the same day). Just days later, on November 28, 2018, the SFJ leadership declared “the Kartarpur corridor is a bridge to Khalistan” clearly indicating ISI’s intent.
More recently, according to a June 15, 2020, report, Indian Intelligence agencies have identified more than 20 phone numbers of Khalistan extremists, originating from different countries, including Pakistan, used in spreading audio messages in various Districts in Punjab. Most of these numbers are being used by the SFJ to spearhead the anti-India campaign under "Referendum 2020".
Further, a June 22, 2020, report claimed that ISI was using its diplomatic missions, particularly in London, to ‘fund and foment’ anti-India hate campaigns. At the behest of the ISI, an officer of the rank of Colonel in the Pakistan Army was instrumental in funding pro-Khalistan groups, including SFJ, which has an office in London.
SFJ has direct links with several Khalistan terrorist groupings, all of which work with the support of the ISI. According to a June 28, 2020, report, the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) was working in tandem with the SFJ. On June 27, 2020, the Delhi Police had neutralized a KLF module and arrested its three members, who were allegedly planning to execute targeted killings and extortions in various north Indian states. One of the arrestees, Gurtej Singh, was in direct contact with SFJ leader Avtar Singh Pannu in the UK, and Gopal Singh Chawla, based in Pakistan. Chawla is a close associate of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, ‘chief’ of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Another arrestee, Mohinder Singh, had earlier been closely associated with BKI.
Meanwhile, with the ISI strongly behind SFJ, providing funds and guidance, the separatist group has made several fraudulent offers to Sikhs in India. Soon after Pakistan announced that that it would charge a USD 20 ‘facilitation fee’ from each pilgrim using the Kartarpur Corridor to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, SFJ leader Pannun declared, “People of Punjab who will visit Kartarpur Sahib between November 1 and 30 will have to submit proof of their visit to SFJ and receive USD 20 service fee reimbursement via Western Union.” Again, in March 2020, SFJ offered to give cash grants to low-income families living in Punjab members of which had tested positive for COVID-19. More recently, after the India-China face-off in Galwan Valley along the Line of Actual Control, SFJ offered INR 5,000 plus salary to Sikh soldiers in Indian Army to join its ‘Khalistan movement’ and support the ‘referendum’. It also made pre-recorded calls to prominent persons like journalists, doctors and lawyers to instigate them for referendum campaign’. Significantly, there is no evidence of even a single payment on any of these offers actually being disbursed.
SFJ’s ‘strategies’ have failed comprehensively. SFJ’s ‘voter registration’ dates have been revised several times as, on each occasion, they failed to enthuse any significant response.
SFJ, working under the aegis of the ISI, certainly poses a challenge for the security establishment in Punjab at a time when the state is facing some risks of a terrorist revival. However, the failure of virtually all of SFJ’s initiatives to secure significant traction among Sikhs, both in Punjab and among the Diaspora, is evidence of effective state responses as well as a rejection of the separatist agenda by all but a tiny extremist fringe among the Sikhs.
Nagaland: Failing Talks Giriraj Bhattacharjee Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
According to a July 10, 2020, report, the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) has accused present Interlocutor for Naga talks and Governor of Nagaland R. N. Ravi of "mishandling of Naga political issue". It described Ravi as the "wrong person" to lead the Naga peace process and stated,
Earlier, in a statement released on June 28, 2020, the NSCN-IM said that Ravi's attempt to equate 'Naga issue' as a 'law and order' problem had become untenable and added,
Significantly, on June 16, 2020, Ravi wrote a letter to Nagaland Chief Minister (CM) Neiphiu Rio about the incidents of extortion in the State, asserting, "the law and order in the state has collapsed":
Though Ravi did not name NSCN-IM, the group itself had justified extortion as 'taxes' in its June 28, 2020, statement, arguing,
Meanwhile, Nagaland Police on June 26, 2020, released extortion-related arrest data in the State (since 2016). At least 1,238 militants were arrested (by State Police, Assam Rifles, Central Armed Police Forces) till June 2020 in 863 registered cases. These included: 361 NSCN-IM militants arrested in 247 cases; 267 Unification faction of NSCN (NSCN-U) militants arrested in 197 cases; 263 NSCN Yung Aung faction (NSCN-YA) militants arrested in 198 cases; 187 Naga National Council/Federal Government of Nagaland (NNC/FGN) militants arrested in 148 case; 91 NSCN Reformation faction (NSCN-R) militants arrested in 63 cases. 59 militants from groups based in other States were also arrested in Nagaland in 30 cases of extortion.
Some of the recent cases involving NSCN-IM included:
July 4, 2020: Nagaland Police arrested five NSCN-IM militants – ‘captain’ Tenyenseng Seb (51), ‘second lieutenant’ Somingam Shang (32), ‘private’ Somirin Tangkhul (21), ‘captain’ Bopai Konyak (34), and ‘sergeant major’ Nagawangbou Wijunamai (29) – from Tseminyu subdivision in Kohima District on charges of extortion.
July 4, 2020: Assam Rifles and Nagaland Police arrested six persons from Green Park in Dimapur District in connection with an extortion racket. Those arrested include NSCN-IM militants – ‘treasurer’ in the ‘prime minister's office’ of NSCN-IM ‘colonel’ Rayilung Nsarngbe and ‘private’ Lamci Iralu – and another four accomplices: Zingring Mung, Zingshonggam Muinao, Rabi Pame and Vimal Kumar Jain.
June 20, 2020: One NSCN-IM militant was arrested along with recoveries (extortion money) from Model village of Dimapur town in Dimapur District.
On June 11, 2020, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a charge sheet against NSCN-IM kilonser (minister) Alemla Jamir aka Mary Shimrang aka Atula Tonger and Masasasong Ao in a terror funding case. Jamir is the wife of former ‘Naga Army chief’, Phungting Shimrang, who is learnt to have crossed over to China in November 2019 along with two other associates. The case relates to the December 23, 2019, recovery of INR 7.2 million by the Delhi Police's Special Cell from the possession of Alemla Jamir. The December 23, 2019, NIA press release disclosing Jamir’s arrest had revealed that the funds were being taken by her as a cash courier from Delhi to Nagaland on the instructions of Icrak Muivah, wife of Thuingaleng Muivah, ‘general secretary’ of NSCN-IM.
Despite being in talks with the Government of India (GoI) since the signing of the ceasefire agreement on July 25, 1997 (which came into effect on August 1, 1997), and the signing of the 2015 Naga Framework Agreement, NSCN-IM has evidently remained deeply engaged in extortion and disruptive activities.
With little improvement in the ground situation and the talks between GoI and NSCN-IM hitting a roadblock, the Governor now appears to be seeking to reassert the state’s power. The talks have reached a deadlock on the issues of a separate flag and constitution.
The Governor’s letter appears to have galvanised the State Government into action. On July 7, 2020, the State Home Department directed all administrative heads and heads of departments through an Office Memorandum to obtain information from all employees in a ‘self-declaration’ form, whether any of the employees have their family members and relatives in any of the underground organizations. The Office Memorandum further asked the heads of departments to submit the forms latest by August 7, 2020.
Meanwhile, expecting hard action from the Government, NSCN-IM's 'deputy army chief', 'major general' A. Raman, warned of severe consequences,
Reports indicate that ‘major general’ Hangshi and some 100 other cadres have crossed over to China along with NSCN-IM’s former ‘army chief’, Phungting Shimrang.
It is likely that the present crackdown on rampant extortion by the militant groups will continue, in order to reassert State eroded by the operation of a ‘parallel government’. It is uncertain, however, whether these anti-extortion efforts will be sustained in order to achieve a larger objective of freeing the state of continuing criminal activities by the rebels, or will be held out as a mere pressure tactic to force the conclusion of talks with the NSCN-IM. In either event, the Government would also need to prepare for unintended contingencies such as a split within NSCN-IM due to talks collapsing, and a resultant rise violence.
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia July 6-12, 2020
Civilians
Security Force Personnel
Terrorists/Insurgents
Total
AFGHANISTAN
INDIA
Arunachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
INDIA (Left-Wing Extremism)
Bihar
Maharashtra
Odisha
INDIA (Total)
PAKISTAN
Balochistan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Sindh
PAKISTAN (Total)
SRI LANKA
23 civilians killed last week, informs NSC: The National Security Council (NSC) on July 11 released data on civilian casualties, saying 23 civilians were killed and 45 others were wounded in Taliban violence over the last week. Data provided by the NSC further mentions that 16 Provinces of the country have witnessed 284 attacks by the Taliban in the last seven days. Tolo News, July 12, 2020.
Taliban says it won't stop fighting before talks, says 'spokesperson' Zabihullah Mujahid: Taliban 'spokesman' Zabihullah Mujahid on July 12 said that calls on the militant group to stop fighting before talks were "illogical". In a series of tweets, Mujahid said that fighting continues as they have got no other option yet. Mujahid further said that the process of prisoner release should be completed so that intra-Afghan negotiations could begin". 1TV News News, July 13, 2020.
Taliban gives new list of 592 prisoners, says source: A source on July 9 said that the Taliban has handed over a replacement list for the 592 prisoners which were originally rejected as release candidates by Afghan Government. The Government so far released 4,019 prisoners and the Taliban has released 737 prisoners. Tolo News, July 10, 2020.
Some freed Taliban prisoners have returned to battlefield confirms Chairman of Senate, Fazl Hadi Muslimyar: The Chairman of the Afghan Senate Fazal Hadi Muslimyar said that some of the freed Taliban prisoners have returned to battlefield. According to Muslimyar, the majority of the militants who were killed in Laghman Province on July 6, were those militants who were recently freed from the prisons. The Khaama Press, July 13, 2020.
ISI using pro-Khalistan elements in Canada for terror acts in India, reveals a report: According to a report by the Canadian outlet Global News, a case relating to two Canadian Sikhs being placed on a no-fly list in the country has now been linked to an alleged Pakistan-based plot to use pro-Khalistan elements to conduct terrorist acts in India. The details emerged as two men - Bhagat Singh Brar and his business partner Parvkar Singh Dulai - challenged being blocked from travelling by air. As per supporting case documents filed by Canadian security agencies, including Public Safety Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Brar was "promoting extremism, including the radicalisation of youth, with the aim of achieving Khalistan independence; and attack planning and facilitation, including weapons procurement, to conduct attacks in India". The Hindustan Times, July 10, 2020.
ULFA's pro-China Youtube video after Galwan clash hints at proxy war in India's Northeast: Following the India-China clashes at Galwan valley, United Liberation Front of Assom -Independent (ULFA-I) posted two pro-China videos in its YouTube channel hinting at the chances of a proxy war in the Northeastern region. Through the two videos released in English and Assamese languages, ULFA-I hinted at the proxy war by China through ULFA and Naga insurgent organisations while blaming India for all the border clashes that have occurred between the two countries since 1962. According to intelligence sources, the ULFA-I leader Paresh Baruah released these videos due to pressure from China. The Sentinel, July 8, 2020.
Journalists, lawyers getting pre-recorded calls from abroad pushing SFJ's secessionist agenda, says report: Even as the Government of India continues its sustained crackdown on the US-based pro-Khalistan outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), the organisation continues to reach out to Indians, particularly opinion-makers like journalists and lawyers with pre-recorded, international calls to push its secessionist agenda and propagate its Sikh 'Referendum 2020' campaign. As per the report, many journalists in Delhi have lately been receiving calls originating mostly from numbers in the US, seeking their support for SFJ's Khalistan cause and 'Referendum 2020', under which popular vote is being solicited in support of Punjab's secession from India The Times of India, July 7, 2020.
Bank accounts of JuD chief Hafiz Saeed and other leaders restored after formal approval from UN sanctions committee: Pakistan has restored the bank accounts of top five leaders of proscribed Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), the frontal organisation of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), including its chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed. The restoration of bank accounts has taken place following formal approval of the Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The other members of JuD who got their bank accounts restored include Abdul Salam Bhuttavi, Haji M Ashraf, Yahya Mujahid and Zafar Iqbal The News, July 12, 2020.
Pakistan must not threaten journalists living abroad, says RSF: Reporters sans Frontières (Reporters Without Borders) released a statement on July 8 where it warned the Pakistani Government to not threaten the journalists living abroad. Citing a 'leaked Pakistani government internal memo', the Paris-based watchdog RSF warned that if any ill befall the threatened journalists, Pakistan will be held responsible. Balochistan Post, July10, 2020.
2,207 complaints regarding election law violations and violent activities received so far, says EC: The Elections Commission (EC) on July 7, said that 2,207 complaints regarding election law violations and violent activities received so far. It said 604 violent activities had been reported to the National Election Complaint Management Centre while 1,603 complaints had been reported to District Election Complaint Management Centres. Daily Mirror, July 9, 2020.
The South Asia Intelligence Review (SAIR) is a weekly service that brings you regular data, assessments and news briefs on terrorism, insurgencies and sub-conventional warfare, on counter-terrorism responses and policies, as well as on related economic, political, and social issues, in the South Asian region.
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