Pro-Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has released a fresh video to threaten India with a ghastly terror attack on the Indian Parliament on or before 13th December. This ominous date coincides with the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attack orchestrated by Mohammad Afzal Guru that rocked the Parliament.
Afzal Guru received a death sentence for his role in the deadly assault which resulted in the deaths of six Delhi Police personnel, two Parliament Security Service personnel and a gardener while wounding eighteen other individuals. All five assailants were eliminated by security forces in a gunfire after the terror attack which was covered by TV channels.
Pannun who is a leader of the banned Sikhs for Justice terror group alleged that an attempt by Indian authorities was made to assassinate him, however, the grand scheme fell through, in the published footage which also featured a poster of Afzal Guru with the caption ‘Delhi Banega Khalistan’ (Delhi will become Khalistan). He further warned that by no later than 13 December he would reply by launching an assault on the Indian Parliament and shake its foundation.
#Khalistan
— Punjab Panther (@Punjab_panther) December 5, 2023
Respected @POTUS @FBI @CIA @JoeBiden @USAndIndia @JustinTrudeau
Will you please ask your #American citizen what kind of response he (Gurupatwant Singh Pannu) is talking about ?
How will he shake the very foundation of the parliament of a democratic country ? pic.twitter.com/IRXeEyxD2H
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun’s threat comes at the same time as the Winter Session of Parliament which started on 5 December and would last until 22 of the same month. The threats issued through the menacing clip have put security officials on high alert, raising concerns about possible disruptions during the current session.
Security authorities unveiled that the Khalistanli radical is possibly being directed by Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI’s K-2 (Kashmir-Khalistan) department to advance its anti-India agenda. This has exacerbated the likelihood that Indian security agencies now have to deal with the country’s two infamous adversaries simultaneously which are operating as a team.
The US protects Khalistani extremists on its soil
Notably, the US Justice Department has alleged that India plotted to kill Pannun in the US which was foiled. An Indian national named Nikhil Gupta was charged by the United States Justice Department on 29 November (local time) for his alleged role in the alleged plot to kill US-based Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York. The “assassination attempt” was allegedly thwarted by the country’s agencies. According to the indictment, the accused was approached by an unidentified Indian government employee to arrange for a local hitman to assassinate Pannun.
Gupta is being prosecuted with murder for hire, a crime which carries a potential 10-year sentence. The Justice Department mentioned that the assassination plot was directed from India by an Indian government employee identified in the documents as CC-1. Nikhil Gupta is also suspected of being involved in the worldwide trafficking of guns and drugs. Moreover, it was purported that he tried to employ an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent as a hitman.
New Delhi responded to the accusation and asserted that it was against government policy and was concerned that one of its officials was associated with the conspiracy. It also disassociated itself from the same. Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi noted, “We cannot share any further information on such security matters. As regards the case against an individual that has been filed in a US court allegedly linking him to an Indian official, this is a matter of concern. We have said and let me reiterate that this is contrary to government policy.”
The official added, “The nexus between organised crime, trafficking, gun running and extremists at an international level is a serious issue for law enforcement agencies and organisations to consider and it is precisely for that reason that a high-level committee has been constituted and we will obviously be guided by its results.”
Afterwards, the Indian government formed a high-level inquiry committee to probe into “all the relevant aspects of the matter.” Arindam Bagchi informed, “We have already said that during the course of discussions with the US on bilateral security cooperation, the US side shared some inputs pertaining to nexus between organised criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others.”
He further continued, “We had also indicated that India takes such inputs seriously since they impinge on our national security interests as well, and relevant departments were already examining the issue. In this context, it is informed that on November 18, the Government of India constituted a high-level enquiry committee to look into all the relevant aspects of the matter.” He declared that India would implement the appropriate follow-up measures in light of the committee’s conclusions.
