Khalistan Liberation Force Chief Harminder Singh Mintoo

The centre believes KLF is involved in terrorism as it has committed and participated in acts of terrorism in India

CHANDIGARH: The Ministry of Home Affairs has banned Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

According to the notification issued by the MHA on Thursday, "Centre believes KLF is involved in terrorism as it has committed and participated in acts of terrorism in India. Khalistan Liberation Force was attacking RSS leaders and was trying to revive militancy in Punjab with the help of Pakistan

intelligence agencies. KLF with the help of financial support from abroad carried out multiple attacks in the state.’’

Earlier MHA had banned Sikh extremist groups including Babbar Khalsa International, Khalistan Commando Force, International Sikh Youth Federation and Khalistan Zindabad Force. It is the 40th organisation to be banned under the UAPA act.

Sources said that the Multi-Agency Centre (MAC) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) had earlier recommended the government to ban KLF citing it’s involvement in community-specific targeted killings in Punjab and carrying out multiple terror attacks in the state between February 2016 and October 2017.

The recent grenade attack at the Nirankari Bhawan near Amritsar was the handiwork of FLF militants and two of them were later arrested by the Punjab Police.

This organisation was formed in 1986 by Aroor Singh with the objective of establishing an independent state of Khalistan by secession of Punjab through violent means till 1994 was subsequently revived by Harminder Singh Mintoo who died of cardiac arrest in April 2018 in Patiala Central Jail where he was lodged.