一 | Soldiers from the Australian and UK armies have participated in controversial events that were seen as endorsing the idea of "Khalistan" (a separate homeland for Sikhs), reports in media outlets The Australia Today and the Hindustan Times said.,On June 28, 12 Sikh soldiers of the UK Army reportedly traveled to several religious sites in Pakistan at the invitation of Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Bajwa. The visit of the British Sikh soldiers was organized by the Defense Sikhs Network (DSN), an organization under the UK Ministry of Defense. The delegation of the British Sikh troops was headed by Major General Celia Harvey, who is also the deputy commander of the Field Army of the UK.,During their stay in Pakistan, the delegation not only visited many religious and cultural sites, including the birthplace of Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak, Nankana Sahib, and his final resting place in Kartarpur, but also interacted with Gen. Bajwa, the Pakistan Army chief.,"I am very grateful to the Pakistani military for facilitating this amazing visit for our Sikh soldiers, as for many of them, this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Maj. Gen. Celia J. Harvey told news agency Anadolu.,The visit of British Army personnel to Pakistan came days after another controversial event in Australia that featured serving members of the Australian Defense Force.,As per a report in Australian media outlet The Australia Today, Khalistani banners, flags, and posters were seen at the Griffith Sikh Games last month. This upset several members of the Indian diaspora in Australia and some of them even lodged a formal complaint about the Khalistani literature with the organizers of the Griffith Games.,"I was shocked to see an Australian Defense Force (ADF) marquee and uniformed officers at the Griffith Sikh Games where Khalistani propaganda was spread on posters, banners, hoardings and on loudspeakers," Melbourne resident Gurusharn Singh said in an interaction with the Australian press.,An Australian defense spokesperson, however, clarified later that the troops attended the event in their personal capacity and that the ADF had not received a formal invitation to participate in the Griffith Sikh Games.,"Attendance was not in any official capacity and there was no formal invitation to Defense to participate," the ADF spokesperson told The Australia Today.,The spokesperson said the Australian Defense Force is an apolitical organization and defense members are expected to remain impartial.,Meanwhile, Mahadevan Shankar, a Queensland-based defense expert called it a "serious issue" as the presence of serving ADF personnel could be conceived as their support or endorsement of the Khalistan separatist movement.,"This is a serious issue for serving ADF personnel in uniform, having a stall with ADF merchandise, and being seen at the same place with the Khalistani separatist sympathizers movement," Shankar told The Australia Today.,Despite the controversy surrounding the event in Australia, Delhi has yet to release an official statement on it.,Want to know more? Check out our Koo & Telegram accounts!,Koo: https://www.kooapp.com/profile/sputniknews,Sputnik India: https://t.me/sputniknewsindia。
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