While India has repeatedly raised concerns regarding the demand for Khalistan, a separate homeland for Sikhs, by a small group of individuals, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the underground leader of the banned organization Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), has once again issued threats to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and other prominent figures in the country.
These threats have increased in frequency following the killing of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was fatally shot by unidentified assailants outside a gurdwara in British Columbia, Canada, in June of this year.
In his most recent communication, Pannun sent emails to at least 25 influential individuals in India, including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, issuing death threats. The list of targets also included notable industrialists like Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, as well as Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan and Kangana Ranaut.
The SFJ, believed to receive funding from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Chinese agencies, also implicated Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Kamal Nath, in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Other prominent figures mentioned by Pannun include the Indian High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, and Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud.
It has been reported that substantial funds have been funneled into maintaining an anti-India agenda following the killing of Khalistani activist Nijjar. This increased activity among individuals like Pannun came after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's statement in the House of Commons regarding Nijjar's killing.
In a recent purported video, Pannu outlined a roadmap for expanding the boundaries of a Sikh homeland to include Delhi as part of Khalistan and offered a $100,000 reward for the arrest of Sanjay Kumar Verma, the Indian High Commissioner to Canada. The video featured slogans like 'Delhi Banega Khalistan.'
Earlier, Pannun had warned of a Hamas-like attack in India and cautioned Prime Minister Modi to learn from the Israel-Palestine conflict to prevent a similar "reaction" in India.
Meanwhile, Canadian MP Chandra Arya criticized his own Liberal Party-led government for not taking action against Khalistani terrorists. Arya expressed concerns about the safety of Hindu Canadians after receiving threats from extremist elements. He also referenced a column that highlighted the potential risk of ethnic and sectarian conflicts in Canada. These remarks followed warnings from the SFJ directed at Hindus living in Canada.
(With Agency Inputs)
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