Washington, DC: The Indian government has provided the United States considerable evidence of links between US-based Khalistan groups and militants and terrorists operating in India but Washington has been largely “unresponsive”, says a report by a top American think tank which also noted that cooperation between Khalistani and Kashmiri groups has become increasingly apparent in North America, the United Kingdom, and Europe.
In a report titled–‘Pakistan’s Destabilization Playbook: Khalistani Activism Within the US’ Hudson Institute said that “perhaps the most worrisome aspect of US-based Khalistan agitation is the likelihood that Pakistan’s intelligence agency is responsible to a considerable degree.”
The report says there is a recent increase in “Khalistan-related anti-India activism within the US” and that the likelihood of Khalistan groups receiving funding, support, and military training from Pakistan is also substantive.
The report calls for action by the US government in respect to Khalistan groups and says that all groups responsible for terrorist attacks in India should be included in its list of designated global terrorist groups.
The report notes that New Delhi has made appeals for action against such groups.
“Unfortunately, the United States government has shown no interest in violence committed by Khalistan activists, even though the Khalistan campaign’s most ardent supporters are located in western countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. Despite urgent Indian requests to these countries to curb Khalistan separatist groups within their borders, their governments have remained unresponsive to India’s appeals,” the report said.
“Making these demurrals all the more puzzling is the increasing involvement over the last decade of Khalistani groups with Pakistan’s so-called Kashmiri groups, who have also become the focus of American intelligence and policy communities,” it added.
The report has been prepared by a study group that includes Dr Aparna Pande, Director, Initiative on the Future of India and South Asia and Husain Haqqani, Director for South and Central Asia.
The Hudson Institute report noted that the US government cannot afford to allow separatist movements from India, including those with ties to militant and terrorist groups, to grow unchecked among its otherwise law-abiding Sikh community.
