America is disloyal in the matter of Khalistan, does hypocrisy on terrorism! The ‘my terrorist is good and yours is bad’ approach should be stopped. US-India Relations

It is believed that for their geopolitical objectives the major powers have always kept extremists, terrorists and separatists as their weapons to serve their interests. The agenda of regime change has been a favorite pastime of the Western powers. Sleeper cells are also a key asset to achieve such objectives which are activated when required. Western countries continue to support the ideology that “my terrorist is good and yours is bad.”

The US is India’s global comprehensive strategic partner and has an eye on India’s defence, economic and strategic position, but it wants it on its own terms. The power and tools necessary to destabilize countries, foreign leaders and governments they seek to monopolize or retain only a few, as in the case of the NPT – the ‘haves and have nots’ ‘. As far as India is concerned, Pannu And Nijjar are big pieces in that toolkit.

Recently, we saw how readily Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blamed Indian agencies for the killing of wanted terrorist Nijjar without any evidence to prove his claims. As things stood, some suggestions were made by Big Brother and his Ambassador to Canada took credit for sharing such pioneering but unreliable and unconfirmed information. Hastily he pulled out an Indian officer, who was posted at the embassy to coordinate security matters with Canadian authorities. In reckless dealings, they have brought bilateral relations to an all-time low and placed Canada itself on the list of countries, like Pakistan, that harbor terrorists and enable extremists to destabilize India. Cross-border terrorism is an instrument of their foreign policy.

Now comes the case of notorious extremist, separatist and terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, who, being a joint citizen of both Canada and the US, enjoys luxurious hospitality and security.

Pannun has been a threat to Indian diplomats, India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and continues to engage in provocative activities and statements. Recently, on the anniversary of the downing of Air India’s Kanishka aircraft by terrorists, in which a large number of Indians and Canadians, including a dear friend of mine, were killed, Pannun had warned passengers not to fly with Air India, Which was once again his goal.

In such situations a sensible country would lock up such people and put them behind bars, but since they serve a useful purpose, they are facilitated and provided platforms one after the other, allowing such More converts are tricked, because these professional eunuchs and tyrants find it a lucrative business, even if they are fools.

Pannu, with the help of the US-Canada alliance, thinks he is beyond reproach. Hence, an alleged conspiracy to implicate some Indian officials along with accused criminal Nikhil Gupta, who is awaiting extradition from Prague, for conspiring to murder Pannu has been pieced together by US agencies and the District Magistrate in Southern New York. It has been made public by the attorney. Likes high profile cases and controversies.

The US leadership is said to have raised the issue bilaterally with its counterparts in India. New Delhi has taken a very serious view of this nexus between criminals and cross-border gangs and has agreed to set up a high-level committee to investigate the matter. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi emphatically said: This is not the policy of the Government of India.

But in my view, we should keep all options open in the fight against terrorism, like the surgical strikes after Pathankot and Pulwama. After all, the issue of security is as paramount and sacrosanct for any nation as it is for the US or any other power that has the capacity to act when necessary and has done so time and again. And they are very proud of these covert and overt actions. We do not need to be stupid or apologetic in this wild world as we suffer the most from terrorism and extremism, supported by friends and enemies alike. Double standards are the trend these days. Their evidence-based requests for extradition of wanted terrorists and criminals fall on deaf ears, making a mockery of the agreements they have signed with India.

They will kill Osama bin Laden while destroying all of Afghanistan; Create Taliban, bomb them and then hand power back to them. They will create evidence to invade Iraq to take revenge on dictator Saddam Hussein and in turn not only destabilize the entire region, but also create conditions to give rise to ISIS and empower extremist groups, intentionally or otherwise . It is right to destroy Hamas, whose October 7 attack India also condemned and expressed solidarity with the people of Israel, but then there will be a selective move in applying the same standards universally. What kind of policy is this!

All those democracies are supposed to be going after the dictators they themselves maintained for so long as a strategic tool. Non-state actors and the lone wolf syndrome have become too powerful for nation-states to deal with them. It is therefore imperative that the sensitivities and security concerns of other countries, especially key partners, be given due consideration through proactive measures from the outset.

International solidarity is a condition that requires the great powers to be realistic and not geostrategically opportunistic and selective. As far as eliminating terrorists and extremists is concerned, there should be no dichotomy or distinction. In fact, both the US and Canada should not allow such elements to operate from their soil especially against India, which is the flag bearer of the fight against terrorism. The principles of sovereignty should apply equally to all countries, but unfortunately in ‘Jungle Raj’ only the powerful take decisions and survive.

The author is a former Indian Ambassador to Jordan, Libya and Malta and is currently a Distinguished Fellow of the Vivekananda International Foundation. The views expressed in the above excerpt are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Firstpost.