Canada-based Khalistani activists appear at UK event with terrorist group

Two Canada-based Khalistani separatist activists were guest speakers at a UK event featuring members of a Khalistani organization listed as a terrorist entity in Canada.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Two Canada-based Khalistani separatist activists were guest speakers at a UK event featuring members of a Khalistani organization listed as a terrorist entity in Canada. The RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency would not confirm they are investigating, but warned against participating in terrorist activities.

The two Canada-based activists, Moninder Singh Bual and Prabjot Singh, both representatives of the Sikh Federation of Canada, testified during the Hogue Commission on foreign interference in 2024.

The National Convention of the Sikh Federation UK was hosted and livestreamed on September 28 in Wolverhampton, England, and was touted by the group as hosting “Khalistani leaders from across the globe.”

During the livestream, one of the speakers at the event was wearing an International Sikh Youth Federation jacket, a Khalistani separatist organization designated as a terrorist entity by Public Safety Canada since 2003.

Despite having a terrorist group recognized by the Canadian government present at the event, Singh and Bual both gave a presentation at the convention.

The Ontario Gurdwara Committee, which Singh represented during the Hogue commission, did not respond to True North’s requests for comment. The Sikh Federation of Canada similarly did not respond.

Public Safety Canada’s listing of the terrorist group notes that ISYF has carried out a “number of low-intensity bombings, assassinations and kidnappings targeting Hindus, moderate Sikhs and Indian government officials since 1984.”

“ISYF was also implicated in a range of failed bomb and firearm attacks. The ISYF collaborates and/or associates with a number of Sikh terrorist organizations, including Babbar Khalsa International,” the description of the group reads on the Canadian government website. “In 2023, a number of ISYF associates, including its chief, were arrested for allegedly smuggling arms, ammunition, drugs and explosives across the Punjab border.”

The UK government de-proscribed the ISYF as a terrorist group in March 2016, allowing it to operate in the UK.

The National Convention for the Sikh Federation UK event in Wolverhampton also featured ISYF banners decorating the entrance.

In July, a video showed Bual calling for a “religious holy war” in Surrey, B.C. He also spoke about how one of the founding religious leaders of the Sikh faith, Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji, gave his people both “pen and weapons”

Bual said, “Those who’re saying we don’t need a violent struggle today… to say such things that today’s era demands non-violence is nonsense,” and warned about “the trap” of rejecting non-violence in the video.

A representative for the RCMP told True North that they are unable to comment on the “existence, status or number of any investigations that may or may not be underway,” in order to protect the integrity of “all investigations.”

“The RCMP takes threats to the security of individuals living in Canada very seriously and wants to reassure everyone that our primary focus is always the safety and protection of the public,” the spokesperson said in an email.

“While membership in a terrorist group, in and of itself, is not a criminal offence, any person who knowingly participates in certain activities of a terrorist group, which includes a listed entity, may be charged under the Criminal Code,” the email read. “Additionally, individuals who knowingly facilitate a terrorist activity, as defined in the Criminal Code, can be charged under the Criminal Code, irrespective of a listing.”

When asked whether the two would be investigated and potentially barred from entering Canada due to the connection to a terrorist group, the Canada Border Services Agency similarly said they would not “confirm or deny” whether an investigation into any one individual was taking place.

The CBSA said border and immigration information is considered “personal information” and protected under the Privacy Act.

“Each traveller’s application is assessed on a case-by-case basis, using the information available at the time of entry,” the CBSA said. “It is a criminal offence to leave Canada for the purpose of committing, facilitating, or participating in terrorist activity.”

Public Safety Canada refused to comment and deferred to police investigators.