A Pakistan-based Khalistani terrorist from Punjab was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen in Lahore on May 6, a government source said. Paramjit Singh Panjwar (63), a key leader of the Khalistan Commando Force (KCF), a banned terror organisation, was designated as an “individual terrorist” under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in 2020.
The source said that Singh was shot on Saturday morning when he had gone out for a walk. He was accompanied by a security guard when motorcycle-borne assailants shot at him from a close range. The source added that Singh used to live under Pakistan ISI’s protection. A photograph shared by officials showed Singh, dressed in a track suit and jogging shoes, lying in a pool of blood.
A Ministry of Home Affairs notification July 1, 2020 had said that Singh arranged arms training for youths in Pakistan and remained engaged in supplying of arms and ammunition, and subsequent infiltration into India for targeting Very Important Persons (VIP) and economic installations.
Singh belonged to Tarn Taran district of Punjab and had escaped to Pakistan in 1990.
Officials said that Singh used to regularly host “seditious and separatist programmes” on Radio Pakistan to incite the minority Sikh community against the Government of India.
The official added that he was a major conduit between smugglers and terrorists, and through KCF, he was trying to rope in former militants and forge a nexus with other forces hostile to India.
KCF came into existence in February 1986 with an objective to create Khalistan through violent means and armed struggle by committing bank robberies and kidnapping for ransom.
On India’s request, the Interpol issued a Red Notice against Singh in 1995.
