Bhai Paramjit Singh Panjwar

Paramjit Singh Panjwar led the Khalistan Commando Force (KCF), one of the Kharku organisations of the 1980s and 1990s, and was its chief when he was shot dead in Lahore on 6 May 2023. Indian agencies and the Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib describe him in opposite terms, and both are part of the record.

Life. He came from Panjwar village near Tarn Taran and had worked at a cooperative bank in Gurdaspur district, according to The Week. He joined the KCF in 1986 (The Tribune), brought in, The Week says, by his cousin Labh Singh, who led the group. After earlier leaders were killed he became chief. According to “official sources” quoted by The Tribune he left for Pakistan in 1995 or 1996. His elder brother Sarabjit Singh told The Tribune in May 2023 that Panjwar had never contacted the family after crossing over, and that Punjab Police had tortured the family because he joined the KCF.

What India says. In July 2020 India's Home Ministry listed him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act as a “terrorist”. The ministry and unnamed security sources allege drug trafficking, arms smuggling and attempts to revive the movement from Pakistan, and say he lived under the protection of Pakistan's ISI. Islamabad denies sheltering such figures, The Week notes. The Week also reports that the KCF is held responsible for the killing of General Arun Vaidya, the army chief at the time of Operation Blue Star. Most of these claims come from anonymous officials and are not court findings.

Key moments

• 1986: joins the KCF.
• 1995 or 1996: leaves for Pakistan, according to Indian official sources.
• July 2020: listed by India under the UAPA.
• 6 May 2023: shot in the head at about 6 am in a park in Johar Town, Lahore, near his home. Pakistani police say two gunmen on a motorcycle fled; his guard was also shot and later died. Pakistan's intelligence agencies and the Counter-Terrorism Department open an investigation. No one has been publicly named as the killer in the reports opened here.
• 7 May 2023: his family asks the Indian government to bring his body home for last rites.
• July 2024: Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh asks the SGPC to install portraits of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Panjwar and Gajinder Singh in the Central Sikh Museum, calling the three “martyrs” of the Sikh community.

Remembered for. For the Indian state he was a wanted KCF chief. For the Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib he is a martyr. Who killed him, and why, is not established by any source opened here.