A retired Border Security Force (BSF) trooper was denied a Canadian visa after a diplomat accused the paramilitary force of \u201cwar crimes\u201d and being a \u201cnotoriously violent force\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a communication to Fateh Singh Pandher, a New Delhi-based Canadian High Commission diplomat has described the BSF as a \u201cnotoriously violent paramilitary unit\u201d which is \u201cresponsible for war crimes in India\u201d.<\/p>\n
The communication, sent to the trooper based in Siar village, 25 km from Punjab\u2019s industrial city of Ludhiana, accused him of not only working with \u201ca unit engaged in systematic attacks on civilians\u201d but also of not providing any evidence in his visa application \u201cdisassociating\u201d himself from the force.<\/p>\n
Pandher, 60, who retired 10 years ago, told IANS: \u201cBy writing such things to me to reject my visa, the Canadian High Commission has not attacked me but this is an attack on my country and my force.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey accused me of being a member of the BSF in a way that sounded as if I had committed some sin. Even in the interview in April 2009, I was asked irrelevant questions about the BSF. They even accused the BSF of targeting a particular community for attacks and rapes.\u201d<\/p>\n
An upset Pandher said that he told the Canadian diplomat that the BSF never committed atrocities on innocent people and did not target any particular community since the force itself had people from all religions.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the official refused to agree with any of my comments,\u201d Pandher told IANS.<\/p>\n
A ministry of external affairs spokesperson in New Delhi said that \u201cthe matter has come to our attention. It has been taken up appropriately\u201d.<\/p>\n
According to Pandher, he had applied for an immigration visa in 2005 and had completed all the paperwork. His medical tests were done in 2008 and he was called for a personal interview in April 2009.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn Dec 8, 2009, I was sent this letter from the high commission in New Delhi levelling allegations against the BSF,\u201d Pandher, whose daughter is settled in Edmonton town in Canada, said.<\/p>\n
The BSF, a paramilitary force for guarding India\u2019s borders, has been stationed in the trouble-torn Jammu and Kashmir state for a number of years.<\/p>\n
Canada is home to a large number of immigrants from India.<\/p>\n
In recent years, Canada has been promoting immigration and tourism from Punjab and has even set up a consulate in Chandigarh to handle the rush of cases from the state.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of immigration agencies operate out of Punjab and Chandigarh to help people, particularly youth, to migrate to Canada and other western countries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A retired Border Security Force (BSF) trooper was denied a Canadian visa after a diplomat accused the paramilitary force of \u201cwar crimes\u201d and being a \u201cnotoriously violent force\u201d. In a communication to Fateh Singh Pandher, a New Delhi-based Canadian High Commission diplomat has described the BSF as a \u201cnotoriously violent paramilitary unit\u201d which is \u201cresponsible […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-top-law-news"],"yoast_head":"\n