US authorities allegedly foiled a conspiracy to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil, as claimed by the Financial Times on Wednesday (22nd November). The report citing unnamed officials has further claimed that US authorities have also issued a warning to the Indian government over concerns that “it was involved in the plot”. The report echoed the allegations made by Justin Trudeau govt in Canada, that India is targeting Khalistani leaders abroad.
As per the FT report, US authorities thwarted a plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of the banned Khalistani terror outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ). The newspaper describes Khalistani terrorist Pannun as an American and Canadian citizen who is a “general counsel” for Sikhs for Justice, a US-based group that is part of a “movement” pushing for an independent Sikh state called “Khalistan”.
It is important to note that India has declared SFJ a terrorist organisation for carrying out armed secessionist movements and perpetrating communal activities against Hindus and a large majority of Sikhs who are against the Khalistani secessionist movement. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun keeps issuing threats of violence, and recently he threatened to blow up an Air India flight and disrupt the Cricket World Cup in India.
The FT report added that the anonymous officials didn’t elaborate whether the US “raising protest” to New Delhi led the “plotters” to abandon the alleged assassination plan, or whether the FBI intervened and foiled a scheme already in motion.
The report stated, “The people familiar with the case, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the intelligence that prompted the warning, did not say whether the protest to New Delhi led the plotters to abandon their plan, or whether the FBI intervened and foiled a scheme already in motion.”
As per the Financial Times, the United States shared purported information about the ‘assassination plot’ with some of its allies after Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Khalistani terrorist was killed in Cnada’s Vancouver in June.
Coincidentally, in September, an ally of the US in the Five Eyes Intelligence alliance, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that there were “credible allegations” that “agents of the government of India” assassinated Nijjar on Canadian soil. The allegations were outrightly rejected by the Indian government calling them “absurd” and “motivated”. More importantly, despite repeated public statements seeking further details and evidence, Canada has failed to show India or its general public evidence linking India’s involvement in the Nijjar’s killing.
According to the Financial Times citing an unnamed official, the US raised a protest after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a high-profile state visit to Washington in June.
The report further claims that the US federal prosecutors have allegedly filed a sealed indictment against at least one person who was involved in the assassination plot in a New York district court, as per people familiar with the case. However, the FT again refused to name the sources.
The report claims that the US Justice Department is contemplating whether to make the so-called indictment and allegations public or wait till Canada finishes its investigation into Nijjar’s killing. The so-called accused ‘indicted’ by the US federal prosecutors is believed to have left the US, as told to FT by unnamed officials.
However, the US Justice Department and FBI have not validated any of these claims and have declined to comment. Similarly, the National Security Council said that the US does “not comment on ongoing law enforcement matters or private diplomatic discussions with our partners” but added, “Upholding the safety and security of US citizens is paramount”, the report added.
Further, the US shared details of the so-called foiled assassination attempt on Pannun with a wider group of allies once Trudeau went publicly to allege India’s involvement in the Nijjar’s killing, as further claimed in the report. As per media reports, US President Joe Biden had raised the Canadian allegations over Nijjar’s killing with Modi at the G20 summit in India in September. However, the White House has declined to say whether Biden raised the Pannun case with Modi in September.
The mass hysteria of “unknown men” gunning down terrorists fret them that they could be next
As per the media outlet, the two cases have sparked concern among the US and its Western allies that there could be a possible pattern of behaviour. Conspicuously, there has been mass hysteria and media coverage surrounding numerous instances across continents, where ‘unknown men’ have reportedly gunned down terrorists who had carried out plots in India, resulting in the deaths of countless innocent Indians.
Interestingly, in a convenient but lame and lazy effort to – appease the vote bank, in the case of the Khalistani-sympathising administration in Canada – or carry out a malignant smear campaign to paint India as a rogue nation carrying out extra-territorial killings of “innocents”, as is the case of Pakistan, attempts are being made to pin the blame of acts of “unknown men” snidely on Indian intelligence agencies.
Speaking with Financial Times, Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun declined to comment on whether US authorities had warned him about the so-called assassination plot against him.
Apart from airing the allegations of a dreaded terrorist against a friendly nation India, the FT report also whitewashed all his violent threats to Hindus, patriotic Sikhs, and Indians as a whole. Pannun is notorious for making vile threats to Indians and the elected head of the largest democracy PM Modi. He recently made a violent threat to blow up an Air India Flight on 19th November like the infamous Kanishka bombing of 1985 which was also carried out by Khalistani terrorists. Here are a few examples of threats and calls for violence Pannun has given in recent times. Click here, to read more about his criminal antecedents and what has been his modus operandi to remain in the limelight and so that Indian agencies take his theatrics seriously.
However, in a sympathetic way, the FT report described the incident as “Pannun angered Indian officials this month by issuing a video in which he warned Sikhs not to fly on Air India because it would be “life-threatening”. He told the FT he was not making a violent threat against the airline.” Financial Times does now analyse how saying that travelling by Air India would be “life-threatening” is not a violent threat.
Additionally, neither the unnamed officials nor the media report highlighted India’s repeated pleas to both the Western nations US and Canada to take action against anti-India elements including those who vouch for armed secession against India. Strikingly, Western media outlets and politicking administrations have also overlooked the grave criminal records of the concerned individuals in this case Khalistani terrorists Pannun and Nijjar, and why they have been given safe haven despite repeated appeals to extradite fugitive offenders.
