Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has openly threatened India on several occasions, even as the US continues to label him a “victim and activist”. From threatening to blow up an Air India plane to asking Hindus to leave the US and Canada, Pannun has made threats against India in videos. However, he remains at large and no action has been taken against him in the United States or Canada.

Pannun has dual American and Canadian citizenship. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced criminal charges against Vikash Yadav, a former Indian government employee, and accused him of allegedly masterminding a failed plot to kill Pannun, who resides in New York.

“The victim (Pannun) is a vocal critic of the Indian government and heads a US-based organization that advocates for the secession of Punjab, a northern Indian state with a large population of Sikhs. an ethno-religious minority group in India. The victim publicly called for part or all of Punjab to secede from India and establish a sovereign Sikh state, called Khalistan, and the Indian government banned the victim and his separatist organization from entering the country. India,” the charging document states.

While the US indictment calls Pannun a victim and a “critic” of the Indian government, it remains silent on all the times he threatened India.

Pannun’s threats against 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 the Canadian Constitution. Your destination is India. Leave Canada, go to India.

In October 2023, Pannun released a video threatening India with a “Hamas-style” attack. In a chilling video, he threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “learn lessons from the Israeli-Palestinian war”, adding that a similar “reaction” was possible in India. He said: “We will launch an attack on India in the style of Hamas.” Pannun said that if India continues to “occupy” Punjab, there will be a “backlash” and “India and Prime Minister Modi will be responsible for it”.

On November 4, 2023, Pannun released video messages asking Sikhs to stop flying on Air India planes from November 19, citing a potential threat to their lives. He had also threatened that “the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) would remain closed on November 19”.

In January 2024, he threatened Prime Minister Modi, daring him to attend the Republic Day parade without security. “I challenge Modi, you are coming to Delhi without your security. If you are a popular leader, come to Delhi on R-Day without security and SFJ (Sikhs For Justice) will avenge the assassination of Shaheed Nijjar by hoisting the Khalistan flag,” Pannun said in a video message.

In January, he also threatened Indian stock markets with disruption to the “Indian economy” on March 12.

In September 2024, after Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the United States, Pannun released a video message threatening Indians to return with Modi. “Please bring your Indian-Americans back to India. All those who planned and financed 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 counterterrorism agency filed its first complaint against him. Despite his threats against India and the prosecution against him, the United States and Canada continue to protect Pannun.

In fact, Pannun admitted that his group, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), was in contact with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office, sharing information against India after the murder of his aide, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

The revelations were made during an interview with Canadian channel CBC News. Pannun said he gave information to Trudeau “detailing the spy network” of the Indian diplomatic mission there.

India cooperates with the United States in the Pannun case

India said it took inputs provided by the United States 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 regarding the charges against the Indian national. However, they said, “none of these individuals (as named by the United States) work with Indian intelligence agencies.”

Sources also said, “India will do everything possible to assist the US in this investigation and officials have already reached out to gather details. Once we have everything, we will investigate at the highest level and inform our counterparts.

The Indian government is very clear that no terrorist activities have been carried out by Indian intelligence agencies,” they said.