The Indian State of Punjab continues to witness peace for the eighth consecutive year after the terrorist-secessionist movement for Khalistan was comprehensively defeated in 1993. There were, however, a few isolated and sporadic incidents of violence in the year 2000.
In all, during the year 2000, 18 civilians were killed in acts perpetrated by the remnants of the terrorist movement of the 1980s and early 1990s. More than 70 persons were also injured as a result of terrorist violence, which took the shape primarily of bomb blasts in public transport or crowded civilian areas. Six incidents of bomb explosions were reported in different parts of the State through the year. The most prominent among them were two explosions on private buses – one in Fathegarh Sahib district early in March, and a second in Jalandhr district, in July; and an explosion inside a running passenger train later in October, in Bhatinda district.
The terrorist organisations that had, in some form or the other, registered their presence in the year 2000 included Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF), Khalistan Commando Force (KCF), International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) and the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI). Other terrorist organisations like the Bhindranwale Tiger Force, Khalistan Liberation Force and Kama Ghara Maru Dal, which have been wiped out from the State and now have offices in cities in Western Europe, also made feeble but unsuccessful attempts to revive activities.
The security forces arrested a number of Punjab terrorists both within and outside the State. Among those arrested were cadres of Pakistan-sponsored Islamic terrorist organisations whose chief area of operation is in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. In Batala, Punjab, security forces arrested three Harkat-ul-Jehad-I-Islami (HUJI) cadres in July.
Within Punjab, police in November arrested four persons, including two who had links with the BKI. The arrests pre-empted a major incident that had been planned by the Babbars. Seven KCF terrorists belonging to different factions were arrested between March and May 2000, in different places in Punjab.
Khalistan terrorists have in recent months shown up their presence in States other than Punjab. Three KZF terrorists were arrested in the Indian capital, Delhi, in March 2000. Three BKI terrorists were arrested in the western Indian metropolis of Mumabai, on December 1. At the time of their arrest, the three were allegedly plotting the abduction of former Gujarat State Chief Minister, Amarsingh Chaudhary, for a huge ransom.
Police in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) claimed that the Khalistani terrorists have established close ties with terrorist groups operating in that State. Following the attack on a group of Amarnath-bound pilgrims in Jammu, investigations by security forces culminated in the apprehension of two Khalistani terrorists near Jammu. These arrests subsequently led to the arrest of three other KZF activists. During these arrests, security forces seized several kilograms of narcotics, besides, RDX, sophisticated arms and ammunition and counterfeit currency. The total amount of RDX seized in Punjab during the year 2000 was 64 kg; 9 kg of PETN explosives was also seized.
The seizures, places of arrests and the interrogation of terrorists during the past year point to the existence of a network among terrorist groups beyond the international border and including various terrorist organizations that claim influence in different States. Reports suggest that meetings had occurred between the coordinating elements of Punjab terrorists and Pakistan-based Islamic terrorist organizations, including the Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Hizb-ul-Mujahiddeen and the Harkat-ul-Mujahiddeen.
Despite the comprehensive defeat of the movement for Khalistan, reports indicate that Pakistan is yet to give up on its attempts to co-opt Indian Sikhs to further its designs in and on India. Pilgrims who had attended the annual celebrations of the founder of the Sikh religion at Nanakana Sahib, Pakistan, disclosed on their return to India that Khalistan terrorists, numbering around 100, had pitched tents at the venue of the celebrations and had subjected them to pro-Khalistan lectures and distributed propaganda material exhorting secession. Interestingly, the Pakistan government appointed Lt. Gen. Javed Nasir, a former chief of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), as the Chairman of the Pakistan Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (PGPC), the body that administers Sikh shrines in Pakistan. The PGPC was formed only in the year 1999. According to intelligence reports, the Sikh terrorists still in Pakistan are working under the direct supervision of General Nasir.
Canadian investigators achieved a major breakthrough when they arrested two of the conspirators in the Kanishka Bomb Blast case after an investigation of over 16 years. Sikh extremists had engineered a mid-air explosion on the Air India Boeing 747, Kanishka, off the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985, in which all 329 passengers on board were killed. The Canadian court at Vancouver, British Columbia, that is presently hearing the case denied bail to the accused, Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bargi. Subsequently reports indicated that two key prosecution witnesses, Sukhminder Singh Cheema and Dave Hayer had disclosed that they were receiving calls threatening them with 'liquidation' if they deposed in the case.