Yasmin Ali
The furore after Justin Trudeau’s announcement in the Canadian Parliament continues unabated. Trudeau stated that the Canadian government had “credible evidence” that the Modi-led regime in India had been behind the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh activist, in June this year. It was a total violation of Canada’s sovereignty – arguments that Canada has not respected its own sovereignty in the past about similar incidents are irrelevant as are the suggestions that other nations may not support Canada.
Justin Trudeau – whatever his underlying political motivation – took a bold stance against the increasingly brazen Hindutva being exported beyond India’s borders and expelled an Indian diplomat. India retaliated with expelling the Canadian diplomat, its media was incensed with bizarre threats of all-out war against Canada and its social media activists were spluttering foul tirades against anyone they perceive critical of their genocidal leader who was once on the banned travel list.
The Economist had long awaited headlines that if India had ordered the murder in Canada, that there must be consequences and that Western countries have for “too long acquiesced to the Indian Government’s abuses”. It took three months from the initial assassination for the news to reach mainstream attention. Canada had attempted to seek information from Modi’s regime but was rebuffed. Since June, the FBI have warned Sikh activists in California about credible death threats.
It was Five Eyes (FVEY) intelligence – Australia and the USA professed themselves “deeply concerned” about the allegations and the U.S. has made clear that it expected Modi’s regime to work with Canada on efforts to investigate Nijjar’s murder.
The UK response was the most lukewarm with regards to support of Canada in the wake of the announcement. This is perhaps unsurprising – the UK post-Brexit is desperate for a trade deal with India and it’s led by a Hindu Prime Minister whose grandfather, Ramdas Sunak, was a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and on the payroll of the British colonialists whilst training Mau Mau militants in Nairobi. Sunak had been most reluctant to raise the issue of the illegal detention and torture of a British Sikh activist Jagtar Singh Johal and only did so with Modi at the G20 summit after pressure from UK MPs, particularly the Sikh MPs supporting their community. It should not be forgotten that in 2017 it was MI6 who informed the Indian security apparatus of Johal’s presence in India – and for 5 years the family had clearly been given false reassurances of help from FCDO. British intelligence involvement in their own citizen’s incarceration and torture was only discovered last year to the shock and dismay of Johal’s family.
Elected representatives in Canada and USA have stepped up avowing support for their Sikh citizens. Indeed, even in the UK, MPs have expressed concern. Tanmanjeet Dhesi, MP for Slough, said he had contacted the UK government to ensure justice was done. Zarah Sultana. MP for Coventry South and of Kashmiri heritage, raised the matter – according to her X (Twitter) account – with government ministers.
AP news on 19th September remarked quite calmly that “India..whose security and intelligence branches have long been significant players in South Asia, and are suspected in a number of killings in Pakistan.”
Farooq Ali, a patriotic Pakistani-Kashmiri, was murdered at Ramada by Wyndham hotel on 11 – 12th March 2022. The details of the struggles faced both with the ICT police under Akbar Nasir Khan and in the legal system have been previously reported.
My brother was a postgraduate of Imperial College London and actually one of the smartest individuals I knew – not in science but his critical faculties when considering global politics. He was not a tool that could ever be bought – attempts to recruit him at Imperial College London failed. It was his passion for Pakistan and Kashmir that drove him. He used to comment and debate particularly the Hasbara trolls on ‘Comment is Free’ in the Guardian and others – he could do that because his knowledge on politics and history was immense and counter their propaganda. That platform for debate was dramatically reduced by the Guardian subsequently.
After finding he was blacklisted in the UK job market, he turned to writing, private tuition and freelance journalism. In 2011, he set up cashmerenews.net – a Kashmir website that focused on human rights abuses in IOK. He wrote under a pen name but let’s not be naïve to think that those who wanted to know the real identity of the author would not have the means of knowing it and keep him under surveillance. That website was repeatedly hacked despite changes in the hosting platforms. One of his articles ‘It’s all in a word: Genocide’ was re-published recently. Farooq was not a flag-waving, once a year Pakistani-Kashmiri – he was pure of heart but fiercely ambitious for Pakistan. In Pakistan, you need a ‘platform’ and that I believe we would have had that shortly. Our plans have been dramatically cut short – but by whom?
Yet despite this background of political intellectualism, ICT police refused to investigate his murder. I had no doubt that this murder was political. AP reports nonchalantly about RAW acting on Pakistani soil. The IG of ICT police, I’m sure, cannot be so naive. He was told the background but still refused a proper investigation. The UK embassy showed no interest in the murder of their own UK citizen and no interest in helping his parents or sisters. Intelligence agencies cooperate so who was involved? Who actually killed our brother? In fact as reported previously the UK authorities have attacked my parents and us for daring to ask questions.
The commentary from the Pakistani media has been nothing short of astonishing. They are freely commenting on the murder of a Sikh activist but where were they when I asked them to highlight the murder of their Pakistani brother? One journalist actually tweeted that the “fall of India in the international spectrum will inevitably lead to the rise of Pakistan which has been a more natural ally of the West”. One seriously wonders about their critical faculties – given every Muslim country that has been bombed, do they seriously think that the most populous Muslim country is a natural ally of these warmongers?
I wrote to and visited various interested parties in Pakistan last year and received no response. This was an extrajudicial killing so why was there no concern about this heinous act on Pakistani soil? Isn’t Pakistan sovereign? And if there were some rogue elements within Pakistani bodies, then given they’re acting against Pakistan’s national interests why haven’t they been found and arrested? Whichever way you look at it, my brother’s murder is not just an intelligence failure but a stain on Pakistan’s dignity.
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The writer Yasmin Ali is Farooq’s elder sister by three years. She completed her law degree. She worked as a paralegal before completing her training contract at Osborne Clarkes in 2007 – a top 30 Law firm in the UK and then worked as a Banking lawyer for 2 ½ years – being at Wragge and Co, a top 25 law firm. She was then “blacklisted”. Like her sister, Dr Rehiana Ali, her only priority now is getting justice for her beloved brother Farooq.
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The views expressed in this Op-ed and following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of The Law Today Pakistan.
