UK is pushing for quick ‘resolution’ of Johal issue.
The issue of alleged Khalistani operative Jagtar Singh Johal, a citizen of UK currently in prison in India, has emerged as a sticking point between London and Delhi, with the Rishi Sunak government facing intense pressure from certain circles to ensure the release of Johal. This issue, officials say, is impacting multiple bilateral issues between the two countries including trade relations and repatriation of Indian fugitives who are hiding in the United Kingdom despite being convicted by local courts.
Johal, who, as per the claims of investigating agencies, is a member of the banned Khalistan Liberation Front (KLF), was arrested by Indian officials in November 2017 from Jalandhar, Punjab, immediately after his marriage. He is facing a total of 11 cases that have been filed against him, of which eight have been filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), two by Delhi police and one by Punjab police. He has been charged under multiple sections including conspiracy (Section 120B Indian Penal Code), murder (Section 302 IPC), terrorist acts (Section 16 Unlawful Activities Prevention Act), using arms (Section 27 Arms Act), and acts done to kill prominent people in society in and around Punjab in 2015, 2016 and 2017. He is presently in Tihar prison.
As per officials, the government of UK is pushing for the quick “resolution” of Johal issue and has raised the matter 110 times with Government of India officially at various forums. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G-20 summit that was held in Delhi in September 2023. Later, top UK officials had met Indian External Affairs Minister, Dr S. Jaishankar on 13 November and sought his repatriation. The subject of “quick resolution” of the matter was also raised this year at senior levels between the two governments.
The February 1987 born Johal, from Dumbarton in Scotland, has been receiving regular consular visits from the UK officials posted in New Delhi. Interestingly, it was the two British intelligence agencies, MI5 and Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6, which had developed and shared the information about Johal working for KLF.
Johal’s family members and his lawyers have claimed that no irrefutable evidence exists that can prove that he was a KLF operative and he was just an “internet marketer” by profession, who would write social media posts on the alleged actions that had happened against the Sikh population during the terror prone times that Punjab faced in the 1980s.
His associates are actively pursuing a robust campaign, employing media, public relations, and political lobbying to influence officials. They are utilizing all available avenues, including engaging with the media, seeking backing from British parliamentarians, and involving international organizations like the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), to bolster their case.
In November 2021, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights or the United Nations Human Rights Office, after getting the representation from his friends and the Government of India, had adopted the resolution to release Johal immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.
KLF was banned in December 2019 under the UAPA. Its chief, the Pakistan-based Lakhbir Singh Rode, 71, who was designated as an individual terrorist by the Ministry of Home Affairs, had died in Pakistan due to “a heart attack ” in December last year. He was a nephew of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and was named in various terror cases, including the Kanishka bombing in 1985. In October this year, the NIA special court in Mohali had ordered the confiscation of his land at Kothe Gurupura village in Moga district. Most of his family members are now settled in Canada.
In June last year, UK-based chief of the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), Avtar Singh Khanda alias Ranjodh Singh died of suspected blood cancer, which his family members allege happened due to poisoning. He was the mastermind behind the attack on the Indian High Commission in London, where the Indian flag was pulled down by the protestors.