Council of Khalistan President Dr Bakhshish Singh Sandhu has asserted that the assassination of pro-Khalistan Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar has ignited unwavering support for Khalistan's independence within the Sikh community, vividly demonstrated by their gathering at the gurdwara where Nijjar's life was tragically taken away by the Indian agents on June 18.

Ahead of Khalistan Referendum voting on Sunday here at Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in support of Khalistan, Dr Sandhu announced that the Sikh community is poised to cast a historic number of votes in the referendum set to take place at Shaheed Nijjar Centre.

The veteran Khalistani leader mentioned that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had affirmed in the Canadian parliament that Nijjar's assassination was the work of Indian secret agencies, operating from Indian consulates in Canada. Furthermore, the world's leading nations, including the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have held India responsible for Nijjar's murder and have called for India’s accountability, said Dr Sandhu, adding that India has acted as a rogue state.

Dr Sandhu said that India has openly violated Canada’s sovereignty and independence by killing and threatening Canadian nationals.

The Sikh leader said the world may not have believed in Sikhs when they said India was involved in their genocide, but the statement by the Canadian prime minister has proven to the world that Sikhs were right.

Prominent world powers have endorsed the idea of a democratic referendum, considering that Sikhs are pursuing a legitimate campaign for the independence of Punjab and the establishment of a separate Sikh homeland, he said.

Avtar Singh Pannu, coordinator of Sikhs for Justice, alleged that agents of Indian secret agencies shot Nijjar with 50 bullets in an attempt to prevent him from organizing the Khalistan Referendum in Canada.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, was fatally shot outside the same Sikh temple in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a significant Sikh population, where the second phase of Khalistan Referendum will take place on Sunday. Nijjar was an advocate for a Sikh homeland in Punjab, and minutes before his killing delivered his last speech in support of the Referendum, Avtar Singh Pannun said.

He said that the second phase of the referendum voting is going to take place at the exact spot where Nijjar had been killed in Vancouver, Canada. He encouraged the community to join and cast their votes in support of independence.

Previously, he said, 135,000 votes were cast in support of the referendum at the same place on September 10, while several thousands who were waiting in lines could not vote as the time finished. Now it's anticipated that more than 100,000 Sikhs will participate in the referendum at the Shaheed Nijjar Center on Sunday.

Bhupinder Singh Hothi, general secretary of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, urged the Sikh community members to turn up in large numbers to cast their votes in the referendum in memory of Shaheed Nijhar. He said that India killed Nijjar in the hope this will scare Sikhs, but India was wrong as the killing had exposed India as a "terror-supporting state" with no regard for the international law.

Nijjar was chief coordinator of the Khalistan Referendum campaign in Canada and a close associate of US-based Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is counsel general of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), the advocacy group running Khalistan Referendum globally.

Nijjar, Pannun, UK-based Paramjeet Singh Pamma and others were designated terrorist by the Indian government in 2020.

The Khalistan Referendum voting campaign is being organised under the supervision of the independent Punjab Referendum Commission (PRC) which will announce the results when all phases are completed. The voting started on October 31, 2021 from London, UK and have so far been held in several cities across UK, Geneva Switzerland, Rome and Milan (Italy), Australian cities of Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney; and Canadian cities of Brampton, Mississauga, Malton (Ontario), and Vancouver (British Columbia).

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