The supposed “freedom movement” for Khalistan has long masqueraded as an organic struggle for Sikh independence. Behind this thin veil of religious aspiration lies a far more cynical reality. Pakistan’s intelligence apparatus manipulating Sikh extremists as pawns in its decades-long proxy war against India. Evidence mounting over years reveals Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as the puppetmaster pulling strings of Khalistani organizations worldwide. This isn’t speculation, it’s a documented fact, confirmed through interrogations of captured militants, intelligence reports, and the transparent actions of Pakistan’s government.
The ISI’s playbook is shameless and direct. They provide funding to Khalistani leaders to accelerate anti-India activities across the globe. This money finances protests, creates propaganda materials, and most disturbingly, attempts to radicalize Sikh youth against their homeland. The recent revelations of Pakistani funds flowing to top Khalistani leaders in Canada exemplify this ongoing operation. Behind the scenes, Pakistan has established a well-oiled machine for manufacturing extremism. Training camps in Kot Lakhpat, Chakowal, Gujaranwala, Mianwali, Peshawar, and Attock serve as production facilities for terrorism. Here, under the watchful eyes of ISI handlers, Sikh militants receive training in rifles, sniper weapons, machine guns, grenades, and IED construction. This is done to produce terrorists programmed to target Indian cities and assassinate Indian leaders.
The architects of this campaign are well-known. Wadhawa Singh of Babbar Khalsa International, Lakhbir Singh Rode of International Sikh Youth Federation, Paramjit Singh Panjwar of Khalistan Commando Force, Gajinder Singh of Dal Khalsa International, and Ranjit Singh of Khalistan Zindabad Force operate openly from Pakistani soil. These men aren’t freedom fighters—they’re contractors for Pakistan’s intelligence services, coordinating attacks under ISI guidance. Pakistan’s desperation to maintain this proxy force is evident in their recruitment tactics. Facing difficulties finding willing participants, they’ve resorted to targeting vulnerable populations: released militants, drug-addicted youth from rural Punjab, illegal Sikh immigrants abroad living in militant-controlled gurdwaras, and even Pakistani Christians from impoverished backgrounds. This isn’t a movement—it’s exploitation of the vulnerable.
The ISI has craftily engineered a dangerous alliance between Khalistani extremists and Kashmiri separatist groups. Lashkar-e-Taiba, a designated terrorist organization responsible for the Mumbai attacks, now trains Babbar Khalsa International and International Sikh Youth Federation militants. They’ve even established a shared office outside Nankana Sahib Gurdwara, a sacred Sikh site, desecrating its sanctity with terrorist operations. Pakistan’s commitment to this strategy is institutional. This organization provides cover for ISI agents to mingle with pro-Khalistani visitors, divert religious donations to fund extremism, and create propaganda undermining India’s legitimate Sikh religious leadership.
The Pakistani playbook extends to diplomatic missions worldwide. Officials in Pakistani consulates from New York to Los Angeles, from Germany to Nepal, actively support Khalistani elements. In Nepal, Pakistani diplomats facilitate the movement of explosives, counterfeit currency, and terrorists into India. After the September 11 attacks brought global scrutiny to terrorism, Pakistan simply advised their Khalistani assets to “lie low” temporarily, relocating them to Islamabad and Faizabad. Most cynically, Pakistan has manufactured artificial “unity” between Muslims and Sikhs through organizations like the World Sikh Muslim Federation and International Sikh Muslim Ittehad Federation. These aren’t grassroots movements but ISI fabrications designed to portray Sikhs and Kashmiris as “natural allies” against India.
The evidence is overwhelming. Pakistan doesn’t care about Sikh aspirations—it sees Khalistan as nothing more than a convenient weapon against India. This isn’t solidarity; it’s exploitation. Pakistan’s security establishment has never genuinely supported self-determination movements, as evidenced by its bloody suppression of Baloch and Pashtun independence movements within its own borders. The recent diplomatic standoff between India and Canada has exposed this operation further. While Canadian Former Prime Minister Trudeau makes unsubstantiated claims about Indian involvement in a Khalistani terrorist’s death, he conveniently ignores the documented Pakistani funding and organization of Khalistani extremism on Canadian soil.
Khalistan is not a legitimate independence movement but a Pakistani intelligence operation weaponizing religious sentiment for geopolitical gain. Those who genuinely care about Sikh welfare should recognize this manipulation for what it is—a cynical exploitation of faith that has only brought violence and division to a peaceful community. As long as Pakistan continues this proxy war, regional stability remains at risk. It’s time for the international community to acknowledge Pakistan’s role in fostering extremism and hold it accountable for the terrorism it exports throughout South Asia and beyond.