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Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has threatened India openly at several occasions even as the United States continues to call him a “victim and activist.” From threatening to blow up Air India aircraft to asking Hindus to leave the US and Canada, Pannun has issued threats to India on videos. However, he remains scot free with no action taken against him in the US or Canada.
Pannun is a dual citizen of US and Canada. On Thursday, the US Justice Department announced criminal charges against Vikash Yadav, a former Indian government employee, and accused him of allegedly orchestrating a failed plot to kill Pannun who resides in New York City.
“The victim (Pannun), is a vocal critic of the Government of India and leads a US-based organization that advocates for the secession of Punjab, a state in the northern part of India, that is home to a large population of Sikhs, an ethnoreligious minority group in India. The victim has publicly called for some or all of Punjab to secede from India and establish a Sikh sovereign state, called Khalistan, and the Government of India has banned the victim and his separatist organization from India,” the indictment document has mentioned.
While the US indictment calls Pannun a victim and a “critic” of the Indian government, it remains silent on all the times that he has threatened India.
Pannun’s Threats to India
In September 2024, Pannun, the leader of the banned group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), threatened Hindus in Canada to leave the country and return to India. In a video, Pannun said, “Indo-Canadian Hindus, you have repudiated your allegiance to Canada and Canadian Constitution. Your destination is India. Leave Canada, go to India.”
In October 2023, Pannun releases a video threatening India of a “Hamas-like” attack. In a chilling video, he threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “learn from the Israel-Palestine war” adding a similar “reaction” is possible in India. He said, “we will do a Hamas-like attack on India.” Pannun said that if India continues to “occupy” Punjab, there will be a “reaction” and “India and PM Modi will be responsible for it”.
On November 4, 2023, Pannun released video messages asking Sikhs to stop flying on Air India planes on and after November 19, citing a potential threat to their lives. He had also threatened that, “The Indira Gandhi Airport (IGIA) would remain closed on November 19.”
In January 2024, he issued a threat to PM Modi, daring him to attend the Republic Day parade without security. “I dare Modi, you come to Delhi without your security. If you are a popular leader, come to Delhi on R-Day without security and SFJ (Sikhs For Justice) is going to avenge the assassination of Shaheed Nijjar by raising the Khalistan flag,” Pannun said in a video message.
In January, he also issued threats against the Indian stock markets to disrupt “India’s economy” on March 12.
In September 2024, after PM Modi’s visit to the US, Pannun issued a video message threatening Indians to go back with Modi. “Please take your Indo-Americans back to India. All those who planned and funded the event are followers of Modi’s Hindutva ideology,” Pannun said in the video message.
Pannun has been under the NIA’s radar since 2019 when the anti-terror agency registered its first case against him. Despite his threats to India and cases against him, the US and Canada continue to shield Pannun.
In fact, Pannun admitted that his outfit, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), was in touch with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office, sharing information against India following the killing of his aide, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The revelations were made during an interview with the Canadian broadcaster CBC News. Pannun said he gave information to Trudeau ‘detailing the spying network’ of the Indian diplomatic mission there.
India Cooperating With US on Pannun case
India has said it has taken inputs provided by the US on the plot to kill Pannun “very seriously”. Hours after the US charges, sources told CNN-News18 that the Indian government was cooperating with the US on their charges against the Indian national. However, they said, “no such individual (as named by the US) is working with Indian Intelligence agencies”.
Sources also said, “India will go all out to help the US in this probe and officials have already reached out to collect details. Once we have everything, we will probe at the highest level and inform our counterparts.”
The Indian government is very clear that no terror activities have been carried out by any Indian intelligence agencies,” they said.
