Khalistani terrorist Paramjit Singh Panjwar shot dead in Lahore

Lahore/Chandigarh: Wanted Khalistani terrorist Paramjit Singh Panjwar was on Saturday morning shot dead by two unidentified gunmen in Lahore, the provincial capital of Pakistan's Punjab province, police said.

Panjwar, 63, was heading the banned Khalistan Commando Force-Panjwar group and was involved in drug and weapons smuggling and other terror activities when he was designated as a terrorist by India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in July 2020.

He was walking along with his guard at the park of SunFlower Housing Society, Nawab Town near Tokhar Niaz Baig in Lahore, where he was residing when two assailants opened fire on him and managed to flee on a motorcycle, a senior officer of Pakistan's Punjab Police told PTI.

The victims were shifted to hospital where Panjwar was pronounced dead on arrival by doctors while the condition of his guard is stated to be critical.

"The gunmen shot (Panjwar) Singh in his head," the officer said on condition of anonymity.

Pakistan's intelligence agencies including the ISI, Military Intelligence (MI) and Counter Terrorism Department cordoned off the area and launched an investigation.

The media was not allowed to the crime scene.

The body has been shifted to the morgue for autopsy.

Hailing from Tarn Taran district in India's Punjab, Panjwar was involved in drug and weapons smuggling and was designated as a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in July 2020.

He joined the KCF in 1986. He later headed this outfit and crossed over to Pakistan.

The KCF was listed as a terrorist organisation under UAPA.

Though he was inactive for the last couple of years, Panjwar had been operating from Lahore and was involved in arranging arms training for youths in Pakistan. He was engaged in supplying arms and ammunition and subsequent infiltration into India for targeting VIPs and economic installations.

He was also involved in broadcasting highly seditious and separatist programmes on Radio Pakistan, intended to incite minorities against the Indian government. He was active in the smuggling of drugs and was a major conduit between smugglers and terrorists, India's Ministry of Home Affairs had said in a notification that designated him a terrorist under UAPA.

"Panjwar's complicity in promoting drug trade and Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) operation in Punjab are well documented. Efforts are being made by his organisation KCF to reactive former militants, sleeper cells and also those on bail and it has been in favour of forming nexus with other forces hostile to India," the ministry had said.

KCF came into existence in February 1986 and the modus-operandi of this organisation was to commit bank robberies and kidnappings for ransom for use to purchase sophisticated weapons for terrorist activities.

The banned outfit under the patronage of Paramjit Singh Panjwar was involved in various terrorist attacks in India, which include the following a bomb attack in October 1988, killig 10 Rai Sikhs at Firozpur and the killing of Major Gen. B. N. Kumar, according to the ministry.