New Delhi/Chandigarh: Ten hardcore Sikh militants holed up in Pakistan for many years are under pressure from its intelligence agencies to revive Sikh militancy in India, Indian intelligence sources aver.
"Pakistan is so desperate to reactivate the militant leaders that it has told them to either create turmoil in India -- or quit Pakistani territory for good," said a senior security official who spoke only if he was not identified.
Security officials say the list of 10 names have been shared with several police forces, including those in Delhi and Punjab, where a bloody decade-long separatist campaign was finally put down by 1993.
"These terrorists are on our radar," Punjab's Additional Director General of Police Hardeep Dhillon told IANS on telephone from Chandigarh.
Prominent among those living in Pakistan are Babbar Khalsa International's Wadhawa Singh and his aides Ratandeep Singh and Mehal Singh.
Others include Jagtar Singh Tara of Khalistan Tiger Force, Ranjit Singh Meeta of Khalistan Zindabad Force, Gajinder Singh of Dal Khalsa, Paramjeet Singh Panjawar of Khalistan Commando Force, Lakhweer Singh Rode of International Sikh Youth Federation, Harminder Singh Mintu of Khalistan Liberation Force and Harmeet Singh of Komagata Maru Dal.
Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has for decades controlled both Sikh and Kashmiri separatists, providing them weapons, training,cash as well as sanctuary, say Indian security agencies.
Once the Khalistan movement was put down, some of the surviving militants escaped to Pakistan.
