India has provided evidence about Pak-backed Khalistani groups, US should take action: Report

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 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 appeal 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 report said "cooperation between Khalistani and Kashmiri groups has become increasingly apparent in North America, the United Kingdom, and Europe, with Kashmiri and Khalistani activists often operating in tandem" and noted that that joint protests of Khalistani and Kashmiri separatists have occurred in Washington DC, Houston, Ottawa, London, Brussels, Geneva, and other European capitals.

"Importantly, the recent increase in Khalistan-related anti-India activism within the US is occurring as the United States and India are collaborating to confront the rise of China, especially in the Indo-Pacific. Pakistan is a critical Chinese ally and therefore has a vested interest in weakening this India-US collaboration," the report said.

It noted that campaigns such as the one for Khalistan could also serve to distract Washington and New Delhi from strengthening the Quad (Australia, India, Japan, US) partnership.

"Acknowledging the strategic objective of mobilizing the peer rivals of the US and their primary South Asian ally against India, one of the most active Khalistan separatist groups in the US recently published open letters to the leaders of Russia, China, and Pakistan requesting their support," it said.

"The Indian government has provided the US government considerable evidence of links between US-based Khalistan groups and militants and terrorists operating in India. The likelihood of Khalistan groups receiving funding, support, and military training from Pakistan is also substantive. The US should therefore take India's concerns seriously and dedicate the requisite intelligence and law enforcement resources to help India address these concerns," the report added.

It suggested six-point action to the US government with respect to Khalistan groups.

"Include all groups responsible for terrorist attacks in India in its list of designated global terrorist groups; designate as terrorists the various individuals that India and US intelligence and law enforcement have established as being connected to designated terrorist entities; apply terror financing laws and regulations to the various groups espousing Kashmiri and Khalistan separatism," it said.

"Investigate US-based groups espousing Kashmiri and Khalistan separatism for possible violations of US laws related to foreign funding; use legal means established specifically to combat terrorism, including FISA warrants, to monitor suspected Kashmiri and Khalistan terrorism sympathizers and advocates," it added.

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 lawabiding Sikh community.

"Its experience with Islamist extremist groups must serve as a template for dealing with Khalistan extremists, and so recruitment or fundraising for militancy or "martyrdom" must not be allowed on US soil, even if the actual acts of violence are to take place far away, in India. US authorities must not let ostensibly peaceful pro-Khalistan activism become the precursor of a new wave of violence in India's Punjab state," it warned.

(ANI)