India shares info on Sikh radicals with Australia

NEW DELHI: With Australia and UAE emerging as a hub for Sikh militant groups and the Islamic State to recruit Indian youth, the government at a recent meeting with their Australian counterparts highlighted radicalisation activities of groups such as the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) in their country.

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 6

With Australia and UAE emerging as a hub for Sikh militant groups and the Islamic State to recruit Indian youth, the government at a recent meeting with their Australian counterparts highlighted radicalisation activities of groups such as the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) in their country. India has Joint Working Groups (JWGs) on Counter Terrorism with 24 countries.

Senior officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the issue of “Sikh radicalisation” was part of the agenda of the JWG meeting. “We made a case that the BKI, a key Sikh extremist group carrying out Khalistan agenda, is finding it hard to get recruits from Punjab.”

Therefore, the outfit is now “trying to recruit foreign-based individuals”, who undergo training in Pakistan and come to India as and when required to execute the attack on pre-designated targets, they added.

The Indian authorities, during the meeting, informed their Australia counterparts that they should keep a close watch on certain social and religious organisations active in their country.

“According to intelligence reports, Australia-based ‘Sikh Students Federation Australia’ and ‘Akhand Keertanee Jatha-Australia’ are providing support to the Khalistan Liberation Force, which has its presence both in India and a few other countries in the world,” an MHA official said.

The agenda note for the JWG meeting between India and Australia, a copy of which is with The Tribune, highlights: “Lobbying efforts by the Australian Sikh community continue unabated calling upon the Australian Government to recognise the alleged killings of Sikhs in India in 1984 as ‘genocide’.”

Meanwhile, officials who attended the meeting said keeping in mind the attraction towards the IS in Australia and several people joining the terror group from there, “we shared information about an Indian youth from Jammu and Kashmir, who was based in Australia and joined ISIS”.

“Adil Fayaz Wada left for Turkey via Jordan on June 21, 2013 on an Indian passport. It is suspected that he got in touch with certain radical groups during his stay in Australia. This happened after he completed his MBA from Queensland,” they said.