Sikh separatist group SFJ accuses Pakistan of betrayal after being barred from referendum registration

The SFJ claimed that it was prevented from posting Khalistan banners and conducting a registration drive at the Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Pakistan despite having been invited there by president of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee on behalf of the government there.

Published on: Apr 15, 2019, 11:56:04 IST

Hindustan Times, Toronto | By Anirudh Bhattacharyya

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The hardline separatist group, Sikhs for Justice or SFJ, has accused the Pakistan government of betrayal in banning its activists from conducting registration activity among visiting devotees from India at a historic gurdwara in Hassan Abdal during Baisakhi celebrations, which also marks the birth of the Khalsa Panth.

A view of Panja Sahib temple during Baisakhi festival in Hassan Abdal, Pakistan (Reuters File)

The SFJ claimed that it was prevented from posting Khalistan banners and conducting a registration drive at the Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Pakistan despite having been invited there by president of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee on behalf of the government there.

It said activists from North America and Europe had arrived there to “launch” the registration drive among visiting Indian devotees for referendum campaign that SFJ has been leading.

SFJ’s legal adviser Gurpatwant Singh Pannun accused Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan of “deceptively claiming to be the messiah of the Sikh community” .

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anirudh Bhattacharyya
Anirudh Bhattacharya is a Toronto-based commentator on North American issues, and an author. He has also worked as a journalist in New Delhi and New York spanning print, television and digital media. He tweets as @anirudhb.Read More

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