On 16th January, terrorist organisation Sikhs For Justice’s chief and designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun issued a threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Republic Day. In a video released by SFJ, graffiti in Delhi’s Chander Vihar was shown with a “Khalistan voter registration” message.
In the audio message, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun accused PM Modi of the assassination of Khalistani terrorist and Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He claimed that PM Modi is on the “radar” of pro-Khalistan Sikhs. He further threatened that on Republic Day, SFJ would avenge the “assassination” of Nijjar and would raise the Khalistan flag. He then “dared” PM Modi to come to Delhi without security, and SFJ would “avenge” the assassination of Nijjar.
It has become a habit for US citizen and designated Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun to issue threats to the Indian Prime Minister, Union Ministers, and diplomats before special events such as Republic Day. For years, Pannun has been indulging in such activities. A few days ago, he also released a statement urging multinational companies not to invest in Vibrant Gujarat, a state-level program to attract investments. In his message, he called the Indian government “Nazi”.
Interestingly, Sikhs For Justice, whose social media handles have been withheld or blocked in India, have bought a “Golden Verified Mark” on X (formerly Twitter). It means SFJ is paying USD 1,000 to X every month for the same under the X Premium membership program for businesses. It is a matter of concern that X has allowed a terrorist organisation to have a verified account, that too, a business account, on its platform.
Who is Gurpatwant Singh Pannun
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is a US-based Khalistani terrorist who has citizenship in both the US and Canada. He poses as an attorney in the US and claims to be a front-runner in the fight for the rights of Sikhs. In reality, he consistently propagates the Khalistani sentiments and often issues threats against India. He has been actively promoting violence against Indian diplomats in Canada, the US and other countries where pro-Khalistani Sikhs have been living. He was designated as a terrorist by the Government of India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for his anti-India activities. His organisation, Sikhs For Justice, was also listed as a terrorist outfit by the Government of India.
The murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar and accusations against India
In June 2023, Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed in Canada by unknown assailants, probably as a result of a gang war. However, in September 2023, the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, accused India of being involved in the murder.
Following the accusations, Canada also expelled a senior Indian diplomat. India categorically denied any involvement in the murder and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in retaliation.
Furthermore, 41 more Canadian diplomats were asked to leave the country and warned to strip them of their diplomatic immunity. In October, the diplomats of Canada left India.
Canada tried to gather support from its Western allies but failed to do so. Even after months of the diplomatic blunder that Canada made, India is yet to receive any credible evidence that Indian agents were involved in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
India has also raised the issue that the Canadian government has been harbouring terrorists and giving them political and financial backing on its soil. Since the accusations, Indian diplomats and Hindus living in Western countries are facing threats from the Khalistani elements.
