Pro-Khalistan group donates $21,000 to Palestinian refugees

LONDON: Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a pro-Khalistan advocacy group, has announced a $21,000 charity to support individuals impacted by the recent spike in violence in Gaza, which has been ascribed to Israel's brutality against Palestinians following a surprise attack by Hamas.

The Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, has sent the donation to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees, "in memory of Shaheed Hardeep Singh Nijjar," who previously served as the Gurdwara president and led the Canadian Khalistan referendum campaign.

Nijjar was a well-known advocate for Khalistan who was assassinated in Surrey on June 18, 2023, by Indian agents. 

The Indian state has been blamed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the killing of Nijjar on Canadian soil.

SFJ leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun expressed in a public letter to the Palestinian people the sympathy of Sikhs who have also suffered similar hardships and displacements in Punjab under Indian control.

The general counsel of the SFJ requested the United Nations to recognise the right to self-determination for Sikhs and Palestinians alike.

He underlined that once Punjab is liberated from Indian occupation, Sikh principles will ensure that no one in the world suffers from hunger, as Sikh values stand for helping those facing oppression and injustice by occupiers.

SFJ has also announced October 21 as a protest day named “Canada to Palestine, Shutdown Indian Terror Houses”.

It has called for protests outside several Indian missions in Canada, US and Europe, alleging that the Indian missions are being used to monitor, target and kill Sikhs and that these missions should be shut down.

The Canadian government has accused the Indian missions in Canadian cities of Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto of spying on Sikhs to harm them. The UK intelligence has passed the same message to Sikhs in the UK.