LONDON: The director of a leading Canadian public policy think tank said there is no evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in funding pro-Khalistan groups such as New York-based Sikhs For Justice (SFJ).
Terry Milewski, a veteran journalist and a senior figure at the conservative-leaning Macdonald-Laurier Institute (MLI), made the remarks during a public online debate, according to Geo News.
Milewski also suggested that the SFJ raises money through its own sources, observing that he has seen no evidence that Pakistan funds the group.
The SFJ and its head Gurpatwant Singh Pannun recently launched defamation proceedings against UK Conservative Party’s pro-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lord Rami Ranger at the British Supreme Court for making false accusations that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency funded the group and Pannun.
The SFJ has been banned by India since 2019 for running a secessionist referendum campaign, but the group continues to operate in western democracies where freedom of expression is considered inviolable.
Khalistan is the name of an independent Sikh homeland that some members of that community aspire to, both at home in India and in countries where Sikhs have settled.
