Expressing concern over the Canadian government's "covert and overt" support to the hardliners operating from its soil to create disturbances in India, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday urged the Central government to ask the global community to join India in cracking down on this grave threat to its peace and security.

"The appointment of a wanted Khalistani terrorist to spearhead the 'Khalistan Referendum 2020' campaign has further exposed the true motive and intent behind the separatist movement," Amarinder said in a statement here.

Reacting strongly to media reports of the roping in of wanted Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was on the list of wanted persons he had shared with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during their meeting in Amritsar in February 2018, Amarinder said that Canada's continued support to Sikh hardliners was not a good thing.

Even as he urged Trudeau "not to play with fire by allowing such elements to use Canadian territory to disrupt India's peace and stability", the Chief Minister called upon the Indian government to take a more proactive stand in dealing with these forces trying to unleash trouble in the country, particularly Punjab, from other parts of the world.

The Chief Minister also expressed concern over Canada's failure to rein in such hardline elements seeking to disturb India's peace and security, and posing a grave threat in particular to Punjab.

"It is in the interest of any administration in Canada to check the spread of such forces on its soil," Amarinder said, warning that allowing the perpetuation of such elements would be detrimental to Canada's own safety and security in the long run.

Amarinder pointed out that Nijjar was accused by India of running a terror camp in British Columbia, target killings in India and conducting weapons training for anti-India terrorists in the west.

"The 'Referendum 2020' had never been the peaceful movement it claimed to be, but by roping in Nijjar, it was clear that SFJ had given up all pretensions of steering a non-violent campaign," Amarinder pointed out.

"Given that the movement was openly supported and backed by Pakistan's ISI, which had been pushing terror into India directly and indirectly for decades now, it was blatantly clear that the so-called Referendum campaign was nothing but a front for the agency to boost its anti-India agenda," he added.

He said that Referendum 2020 was nothing but a front for the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) and it's agents to promote and execute terrorist acts in Punjab and India.

--IANS

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