AMRITSAR, Punjab, India:

The Jathedar of Akal Takht, Mr. Jasbir Singh Khalsa, met Sikh lawyers to elicit their views on providing legal aid to various detainees and achieving Panthic unity.

The meeting was held on the second floor of Guru Ram Das building inside the Golden Temple complex. Certain Damdami Takssal leaders also attended it.

It is reliably learnt that the Punjab Sikh Lawyers Council presented an eight point charger of demands to the Jathedar during the five hour long meeting.

The council maintained that talks should be held with the Centre only after these points were conceded by the Centre.

The agenda for a dialogue with the Centre should be prepared by the “Sarbat Khalsa”, it said.

Eighty lawyers attended the meeting.

This is said to be the first of a series of meetings Mr. Jasbir Singh Khalsa proposes to hold with a cross section of the Sikh community, including various militant leaders.

The eight points include the repeal of all “black laws”, including the 59th amendment to the Constitution, withdrawal of paramilitary forces, release of all detainees, punishment to the “guilty” of the November, 1984, riots, rehabilitation of all Army deserters, and transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab and stopping the digging of the SYL Canal.

The Council General Secretary, Mr. DS. Gill, informed Mr. Jasbir Singh that members of the council had expressed similar views of a meeting called by a former acting Jathedar of Akal Takht, Mr. Darshan Singh, here on June 13, last year.

Mr. Gill said the council had constituted a 13member committee headed by Mr. Rajdev Singh Barnala to fight all court case involving Sikh youths.

Mr. Jasbir Singh stressed the need for Panthic unity”.

Mr. Jasbir Singh approved the committee constituted by the council.

The 12 other members of the committee are Mr. Amar Singh Chahal (Chandigarh), Mr. Jagmohan singh Saini (Patiala). Mr. Baldev Singh Brar (Ferozepur), Mr. GS. Ghuman (Ludhiana), Mr, Harjit Singh Sandhu (Kapurthala), Mr. Narinder Singh Kahlon (Gurdaspur), Mr. Tirath Singh Dhillon (Jullundur) Mr. Varinderpal Singh Bhatia (Amnitsar), Mr. Ajit Singh Bhango (Bathinda) and Mr. Hardial Singh Gill (Hoshiarpur).

Article extracted from this publication >> May 6, 1988