Latest news with #SukhbirBadal
News18
15-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
Pakistan's New Punjab Blueprint: Golden Temple At The Heart Of ISI's Hybrid War Plan
Intelligence inputs accessed on July 14, 2025, reveal a renewed push to use the sacred site as both a shield and a trigger. A sinister new blueprint by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), accessed by CNN-News18, aims to destabilise Punjab using a hybrid warfare model that mixes terrorism, psychological operations, digital propaganda, and religious manipulation. Intelligence agencies have confirmed that ISI is reviving tactics reminiscent of the 1980s insurgency period — this time with advanced tools and global collaboration — to trigger unrest centered around the Golden Temple. Golden Temple: Symbol, Shield, and Target The core of the new operational blueprint is the tactical and symbolic exploitation of the Golden Temple. Intelligence inputs accessed on July 14, 2025, reveal a renewed push to use the sacred site as both a shield and a trigger. The recent bomb threat email received by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), referencing RDX, points to coordinated efforts by ISI-backed groups to provoke mass outrage through calculated targeting of religious sensitivities. Officials warn that any miscalculated action near the shrine could lead to a nationwide standoff, comparable to the events of 1984. The Golden Temple's sanctity makes it difficult to fully police, thereby creating security blind spots that ISI intends to exploit for arms dumps, propaganda filming, and sheltering operatives. The convergence of religious emotion, political symbolism, and lack of surveillance provides ISI with a potent recipe for unrest. Tech, Terror, and Trauma: Tools of Psychological Warfare Social media platforms, encrypted messaging apps such as Threema and Element, and diaspora-driven campaigns are being weaponised to incite separatist sentiment. Unofficial Khalistan referendums have been inflated with false participation claims — 127,000 in San Francisco, 55,000 in Calgary, and 37,000 in New Zealand — used not only for propaganda but also as fundraising tools through NGO fronts. Gangster-Terror Nexus and Cross-Border Logistics Pakistan's strategy leans heavily on the deepening nexus between gangsters and Khalistani terror outfits. Operatives like Goldy Brar have claimed responsibility for killings in Russia and California, showcasing a chilling international reach. The assassination attempt on Shiromani Akali Dal's Sukhbir Badal near the Golden Temple by Chaura, a Pakistan-trained Babbar Khalsa terrorist, is another example of targeted violence backed by decades-old terror linkages. Drone incursions continue to be a critical conduit for cross-border smuggling. In 2024 alone, Punjab recorded 286 such instances involving AK rifles, heroin, IEDs, and even satellite phones. Border districts like Tarn Taran and Ferozepur have emerged as key nodes for these operations. Digital Insurgency and Diaspora Involvement Key figures like Gurpatwant Singh Pannun have escalated their rhetoric, threatening events such as Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and invoking terror tactics similar to Hamas. From prison, Amritpal Singh has announced the launch of a political party, pledging to declare Khalistan within a year if elected — further blurring the lines between secessionist ideology and democratic posturing. The use of psychological tactics is relentless. The 19 fake threats to Air India in three days during 2024, later traced to SFJ's digital disruption campaigns, underscore the new era of 'keyboard insurgency." Posters glorifying Bhindranwale, calls for embassy attacks, and AI-generated narratives about injustice against Sikhs continue to flood diaspora and domestic spaces. Crackdown and Countermeasures Indian agencies have responded with intensified crackdowns. In 2024, 66 terrorists were arrested, 12 active modules were neutralised, and 1,099 kg of heroin was seized. The NIA blocked over 7,500 radical URLs, seized Rs 73 crore from terror-linked scams, and invoked the UAPA to target SFJ operatives' digital and financial assets. Courts have denied bail in key cases, signalling a firm judicial stance. Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hans India
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
AAP has become so afraid of Akali Dal, says Sukhbir Badal after courting arrest
Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Wednesday courted arrest along with Akali workers to protest the registration of a case against senior party leader Bikram Singh Majithia. The SAD President was stopped by police squads from visiting gurdwara Sri Amb Sahib to pay obeisance, after which he was scheduled to lead Akali workers to the Vigilance Bureau office to protest against political vendetta against Majithia. A large number of Akali workers were forcibly taken away by heavy police contingents deployed to prevent them from paying obeisance and assembling inside the sacred precincts of the Gurdwara Sahib. 'AAP has become so afraid of the Shiromani Akali Dal that it conducted a state-level crackdown on Akali workers and detained hundreds of senior leaders and workers at their residences besides undertaking preventive arrests,' Badal told the media at the protest site. 'Everything in Punjab is being directed and run by the communal non-Punjabi Arvind Kejriwal. Police cases are just a façade. We will not allow Punjab to be ruled by communal elements from Delhi,' said Badal, while speaking to the media from a police van. Badal further said Kejriwal had fallen back on repression as his last desperate measure to divert people's attention from the 'loot that his gang was currently carrying out in Punjab'. Repression and political vendetta, he said, are the last resort taken by all unpopular and rootless leaders. Describing the crackdown on peaceful Akalis as worse than the one during Emergency or even during the Jaitu Da Morcha, he said not even during those days were Sikhs stopped from going to their sacred shrines as Akali workers were stopped on Wednesday from peacefully visiting Gurdham Gurdwara Amb Sahib in Mohali. Badal said, 'I don't care about this repression against me personally, as defiance against repression runs in my blood. But I warn the government against repression against our peaceful Akali workers.' He described Wednesday's developments as 'broad daylight murder of democracy, civil liberties and human rights. Where are the champions of human rights today?'
Scroll.in
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
SAD leader Bikram Majithia arrested for alleged money laundering linked to drugs case
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Wednesday arrested Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia for allegedly laundering more than Rs 540 crore of alleged 'drug money', the Hindustan Times reported. The former state minister was arrested after vigilance officers conducted a raid at his Amritsar home. A first information report was registered in the matter based on an investigation into a drug case conducted by a Special Investigation Team, the Hindustan Times reported. The SIT had uncovered the alleged money-laundering operation involving more than Rs 540 crore. Assets in the names of Majithia and his wife, an MLA, had increased substantially, for which no legitimate sources of income were provided, PTI quoted a bureau spokesperson as saying. Majithia was booked under sections of the 1988 Prevention of Corruption Act pertaining to criminal misconduct by a public servant, according to the Hindustan Times. Section 13(1)(b), one of the provisions he was booked under, pertains to offences in which a public servant dishonestly or fraudulently misappropriates or converts a property under their control as a public servant for personal use. The case stems from the findings of an investigation into a 2021 drug case registered against Majithia. The former minister was arrested in the earlier case in February 2022 and was granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in August 2022. The 2021 case against him was registered under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. The prosecutors have alleged that Majithia provided logistical and financial support to persons involved in a drug-trafficking racket, the Hindustan Times reported. On Wednesday, Majithia said that the raid conducted at his home ' shows the arrogance ' of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal, the chief of the state's ruling Aam Aadmi Party. The AAP government was flouting the law, Majithia said on social media. SAD claims 'political vendetta' SAD chief Sukhbir Badal and several party leaders criticised the state government and claimed that the allegations against Majithia were ' political vendetta '. Registering false cases is a criminal act, Sukhbir Badal said on social media. 'Officers should know that inquiries into all such false cases and acts of suppression committed during this government's tenure will surely be conducted at the appropriate time,' he said. 'I urge the police personnel not to break the law, as the change of guard is just one and a half year away.' Former Union minister and SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that the developments were an attempt to ' suppress the voice of truth'.
Hindustan Times
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Akal Takht-appointed committee to end SAD membership drive on June 18
The Akal Takht-appointed committee on Sunday said that it will wind up the membership drive for Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on June 18. The committee said it has so far circulated 26 lakh slips to make members in Punjab and other states and for now, 6 lakh slips have been received back and a verification process is underway. The committee constituted on December 2 to supervise the membership drive started the process from Amritsar on March 18 after performing ardaas at Akal Takht. While pronouncing the penalty on Sukhbir Badal, the Akal Takht constituted a 'seven-member' committee led by SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami. 'In about two months, we have received tremendous response from Punjab and other states. In foreign countries, we have started the drive and people have been welcoming and are becoming members in large numbers,' said Manpreet Singh Ayali, who is playing an active role in the drive. Other members of the committee are Gurpartap Singh Wadala, Iqbal Singh Jhoondan, Bibi Satwant Kaur and Santa Singh Umaidpur. Two members of the committee, including Dhami, who was made head of the committee, and former SGPC president Kirpal Singh Badungar, have since resigned from the committee, after which five members took charge. 'We will draw an analysis on June 19, as to how many slips (membership forms) were circulated and how many have been received back. If the need arises, we may extend the drive, and we will take a decision a day after analysis,' Ayali added. He said that the five-member committee is making a panthic platform for the sake of Punjab, and anyone can join. 'We are working for unity in the panth and will also make sure that the people of the religions are safe and prosper,' said Ayali on being asked that appeals are being issued from different quarters as that also from SAD led by Sukhbir Singh Badal for panthic unity. Not joining SAD: Dhindsa refutes reports Chandigarh Former finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa on Sunday refuted the reports that he is joining Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). He emphasised that the reports are completely unfounded and defamatory. Parminder Dhindsa said that his father, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, who passed away a fortnight back, had one dream of making the SAD a strong political entity. 'However, the party could never be strong under Sukhbir Badal's leadership,' he said, affirming his commitment to strengthening the SAD to fulfil his father's vision.
Time of India
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Sond condemns SAD chief's remarks
Ludhiana: AAP leader and cabinet minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond Sunday strongly condemned the statement of Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal about only a CM who wields a 'danda' can solve people's problems. In a press meet here, Sond said, "Our CM Bhagwant Mann uses the danda against drug traffickers, land mafia, and gangsters, while Sukhbir Badal used it against common people. Mann takes action against anyone who attempts to disturb the law and order of Punjab." He further said, "The Akali Dal has been reduced to just three seats, and even those seats are slipping away from them because the Akali Dal used the danda against Sikh sangat seeking justice, against teachers, and against unemployed youth." Sond asked, "What was the fault of those people in Behbal Kalan who were shot during your regime? Was it not under your govt that the sacrilege of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji happened? You admitted your mistakes at Shri Akal Takht Sahib." He said Sukhbir Badal spared nothing, and played with the faith of millions. "People thought he changed after apologising, but he didn't. To further his political gains, he removed a capable jathedar in the middle of the night and replaced them with their loyal ones. Does Badal think Punjab's people do not understand all this?"
