New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) Pakistan’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, had set up the terrorist-gangster network with the intention of advancing activities linked to the Khalistan movement. The plan was to ensure that the gangster network smuggled narcotics, arms and ammunition, and raised funds for the Khalistan network.

While this arrangement worked seamlessly for both the Khalistan elements and the gangster network, cracks now appear to be emerging. This follows a reset in ties with Canada and the United Kingdom led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

With both countries intensifying their crackdown on Khalistani networks, coupled with effective coordination among Indian, Canadian and UK agencies, there has been a noticeable shift in strategy.

The Khalistani operatives, who had made the UK and Canada their home to launch campaigns against India all these years, have now realised that the aggressive strategy is not working at all.

An official said that the Khalistanis have always taken a violent stance against India. This included threatening the Indian diaspora and at times even the original residents of the country, spreading anti-India campaigns and also desecration of temples.

“With the coordination in place and an ongoing crackdown on the movement, the fear factor among the people is slowly vanishing,” the official said.

Another official said the Khalistani elements have now opted for a different approach, focusing on organising peaceful events and gradually building public support by highlighting the reasons they believe the movement is necessary.

“These elements decided that they would not indulge in violence now onwards and take a softer approach so that they could convince the people instead of generating fear among them,” the official said.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that this has, however, not gone down too well with the gangster network. The gangster network thrives on violence and fear. A lot of their funds are earned through extortion rackets.

“In Canada, this network has fired at buildings and establishments belonging to the Indian diaspora only with an intention to create fear and extort money from them,” the official added.

A soft approach is something that does not suit the gangster network, the official explained, as fear has been their primary as well as the most effective weapon. This decision to take a softer approach has reportedly been opposed by the gangster network, and this has driven a wedge, officials say.

Counter-terrorism experts say that the Khalistani elements backed by the ISI now find themselves in a spot. It is an open secret that the two networks work hand in hand. Hence, any strike by the gangster network would therefore be immediately linked to the Khalistan movement, undermining its effort to project a non-violent strategy.

On the other hand, the Khalistani elements cannot sever ties with the gangster network. The network remains crucial for procuring arms and ammunition, while the narcotics smuggling racket continues to serve as a key source of funding for the movement.

Officials say that the Khalistani elements want to operate as a separatist movement, rather than a terrorist network. This means that they would use legitimate channels to raise funds, hold seminars and promote narratives in a peaceful manner. This is mainly aimed at taking the Sikh community on board, as the majority of them do not believe in the Khalistan movement.

The Khalistani elements feel that this soft approach could convince the Sikh community about the movement.

“Further, the Khalistan forces are also trying to build a bond between all the Sikhs and the movement,” an official said.

The challenge for the ISI would not only be immense. It has to keep the gangster and terror networks together at any cost. Any wide rift would spell disaster for the movement, which has found it tough to gain any momentum in India. An official said that for the ISI, the balancing act may not be an easy job.

The Pakistani spy agency may rein in the Khalistanis, but keeping the gangster network under check would be extremely hard as these elements would spiral further out of control, the official said.

–IANS

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