Ahead of the July 14 congregation called by the Jathedar of the Akal Takht at Harike Pattan, Paramjit Kaur Khalra, widow of slain human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, has urged the Jathedar to constitute a People’s Commission to establish the actual number of enforced disappearances, unidentified bodies and those killed in alleged fake police encounters during the Punjab’s militancy period.

In a post on X, she appealed to Jathedar Kuldeep Singh Gargaj to lead an impartial effort to uncover the truth about alleged human rights violations during the 1980s and 1990s.

Referring to the June 1984 military action at the Golden Temple, the November 1984 anti-Sikh violence and the subsequent years of militancy, she said the issues of unidentified bodies, torture and thousands of alleged fake encounters still await justice and accountability.

Khalra alleged that successive governments had failed to deliver justice to the victims. She held the Congress government responsible for excesses during the militancy period and accused governments led by the Shiromani Akali Dal of failing to ensure accountability and of extending support and official positions to police officers accused in human rights violation cases. She further alleged that the present Aam Aadmi Party government had failed to bring convicted police personnel to justice, while accusing the BJP-led Union government over reported targeted killings abroad.

Among her key demands was the constitution of a People’s Commission to ascertain the actual number of disappearances, unidentified bodies and fake encounter victims during the 1980s and 1990s. She also sought a place in the Central Sikh Museum for the unidentified victims whose identities, she said, were established through Jaswant Khalra’s work, and urged the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to provide financial assistance to affected families.

Khalra said no political party or individual should be above accountability and urged that those responsible for killings, denial of justice or concealment of the truth be held answerable before the people. She appealed that the suffering of victims, and what she described as the “third Ghallughara”, should not be used for political gain but should instead become the basis for seeking accountability from the entire system.